Woman, 83, smashes into Natick liquor store, injures cashier

Slattery said the driver of the car "didn't remember what happened" after the crash. He said there was a handicapped placard on the car, but it wasn't clear if the woman driving was disabled. The driver was taken to the hospital complaining of chest pain.

Officials didn't know exactly how the mishap occurred. But Natick Police Lieutenant Brian Lauzon said that "there probably will be charges."

Ken Pringle said his girlfriend, Debra Blenkhorn, 51, who had worked at the store for about 13 years, was the cashier who was hit. He said he had just visited her in the hospital, where she was complaining of arm and neck pain.

He said he got a call from one of Brenkhorn's co-workers who said she had been pinned between the counter and a shelf full of liquor bottles.

"I was in shock. I was very scared. She could have died," he said.

James Padula, president of Fannon's Liquor Store Inc., said he was heading to the store to survey the damage.

After the crash, the gray Ford Mustang convertible could be seen with only its back end protruding outside the store. Slattery estimated the car had caused $50,000 in damage.

Kristine Kessler, who lives next door on North Main Street, said she heard a loud noise "like the Dumpster was being emptied."

She said she looked out and saw the car had gone through the front window of the store, and Natick police and fire units were at the scene.

The latest news comes at a time of heightened concern about elderly drivers' abilities after a string of highly publicized accidents in which they were at the wheel.

Lawmakers promised at a State House hearing Tuesday to "fast track" legislation imposing new regulations on older drivers after an 83-year-old man was in a crash in Woburn that killed his 84-year-old wife.

Globe correspondent Jack Nicas and Martin Finucane of the Globe staff contributed to this report.