Owner Mack Johnson said he expects Johnson’s Giant Food in Attalla to reopen this Thursday, or Friday at the latest, after a vehicle ran through the store’s brick wall and into its deli area Monday night. 

Attalla police responded to the incident and notified store officials. Crews worked through the night and were busy Tuesday morning assessing and cleaning up the damage. 

Attalla Police Chief Dennis Walker said little is known for sure about the incident as the investigation continues. “It appears that he left (Alabama Highway) 77 and drove right through the building,” he said. 

Walker said it appears the driver hit the wall “on purpose,” although authorities will be examining security camera footage before considering possible charges. 

He said the driver was hospitalized as of Monday night, but he had no update beyond that. 

The store owner said the driver was “still in the car and unresponsive” when he arrived on the scene at about 10:30 p.m. Johnson said it appeared the man “had a straight shot and lowered the boom, wide open.” 

The store’s popular deli was “torn all to pieces,” Johnson said. “The problem was that it hit all our fryers, that had probably 100 gallons of grease in (them),” he added. “Then it busted water lines and spilt probably 2,000 gallons of water and it saturated the floor. It’s a mess.”

Johnson said it would take, “God willing,” 10 or 12 weeks to get the deli reopened, calling it a big loss for the store at 1431 Third St. SW. 

“We’re heartbroken, but we’re blessed,” he said. “It could’ve been a lot worse.”

(Gadsden Times)