CABARRUS COUNTY, N.C. — Flames ripped through a Cabarrus County antique shop Wednesday morning after an SUV slammed into the building.
Witnesses told Channel 9 that a black Trailblazer collided with another vehicle around 8:30 a.m. near the intersection of U.S. 601 and Cold Springs Road.
The impact of the crash caused 40-year-old Margarita Colchado's SUV to veer off the road and plow into Annie's Cane Shop, immediately igniting the building.
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Troopers said something Colchado ran over during the wreck caused the gas tank in her SUV to rupture.
She was rushed to a nearby hospital with injuries.
Witnesses told Channel 9 that drivers got out of their cars to help pull Colchado out of harms way as billows of smoke and flames poured from the family-owned shop.
"My heart went into my throat, and we come running up here," one witness said. "There was really nothing we could do we just had to sit and let the process take place."
Annie Young said she has owned the antique shop for 38 years and it has been a labor of love.
"I'm very grateful, very grateful that they got right on top of it. It could have been 100 percent worse," Young said.
Troopers said the driver of the other car was also taken to a hospital, but is expected to recover.
Colchado was ticketed for failing to yeld and driving without a license.