Video shows man crash pickup through front of gas station store

Newly released video shows a man crashing his pickup truck into a gas station store and then removing his license plate and walking away.

The surveillance footage was released by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office in Michigan, which later arrested William Edmonds, 24, in the Thursday crash at a BP station in Ortonville, about 50 miles northwest of Detroit.

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The sheriff’s office said Edmonds accelerated rapidly in the station’s parking lot about 2:30 a.m., then struck a gas-pump island before crashing into the store.

William David Edmond.Oakland County Sheriff’s Office

Deputies spoke with witnesses who said the driver struck a curb by a gas pump, lost control and crashed through the front of the station’s store, a police incident report states.

Edmonds told authorities he had been drinking beer and had wanted to speed around the gas pumps because his new tires spin easily, according to the incident report.

He said he had no intention of crashing into the station or hurting anyone, the report said, adding that he said he removed his license plate and fled afterward because he was scared.

The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office charged Edmonds with reckless driving and failing to report an accident before leaving the scene. He was arraigned and released Friday on a $5,000 bond under the order that he never return to the BP gas station and submit to drug and alcohol tests twice a week.

An employee at the gas station store, who recognized Edmonds as a regular customer, told officers the driver of the pickup truck had removed papers from the vehicle in addition to the license plate, the incident report said.

No one was injured in the accident, but broken bottles of liquor later seeped into a floor outlet, causing an electrical fire, prompting the Brandon Township Fire Department to respond, according to the sheriff’s office.

source: nbcnews.com