Man charged with impaired driving after car crashes into flower shop

Carol Tobin was awakened by a knock on her door from police at 3:45 a.m. 

Barrie officers told her she needed to secure her flower shop because an alleged drunk driver had crashed his car through the front door.

The shop called Barrieflower.ca and Weddingdecorator.ca is located at 282 Dunlop Street West at Anne Street.

Carol spent the rest of the night in the store huddled under a warm blanket trying to fend off the cold blasting through the ruined and now wide open entrance.

"We sit now waiting for insurance people because we can't leave our store open to the world," said Carol. "It's upsetting. This is a busy time for us."

Her son, Rick, the shop owner, also rushed over to guard his store and figures damage to the door alone will cost $4,000 to repair.

Then there's another thousand dollars in dead plants.

The crash caused a front window to crack and possible structural damage to the building.

"He hit with such force that it cracked the inside wall and there's been a little bit of shifting to the building," said Rick. "We might have to move."

Rick is relieved not only that no one was hurt, but that it was a Mazda 3 and not a big pickup truck that crashed into his business.

"Just WOW," said Rick, still stunned by the wreckage. "They have to go after the bar owners. People drive drunk all the time and I think if you're going to own a bar and have a liquor license then you should make sure your customers aren't leaving hammered."

The Tobins say officers told them the driver managed to reverse the car out of the shop and was attempting to flee when a passerby called police. 

"Very sad that someone so young can be so stupid," Carol said. "People aren't getting it. It's foolish to drink and drive. It hurts people."

The shop owners fear they'll lose another $2,000 today in retail sales. 

And a couple from Toronto had an appointment to book the shop for flowers for a wedding at Horseshoe Resort. 

"If they go somewhere else, then we're going to be losing a minimum of five thousand," added Carol. 

Barrie police have charged a 23-year old man from Ajax with impaired driving, over 80mgs and possession of a controlled substance, cocaine.