‘Their hands are tied’: Café owners call for accountability after box truck damages business

LOCUST, N.C. — It’s not their fault that someone in a box truck barrelled through their parking lot and took down power lines. They just want someone to take responsibility.

Two weeks ago, an Enterprise truck crashed through a Locust parking lot and tore down power lines, knocking out power to the Blended Café.

Michelle and Bill Aldridge own the small shop. It’s one of four businesses in a little pink house on W. Main Street.

“My wife called and she said, ‘Honey, there’s been an accident at the business,’” Bill told Channel 9′s Hannah Goetz.

It happened on June 28, and security video shows the Enterprise truck looping around their business into the gravel parking lot, causing major damage before taking off.

“Pulled the entire power box off the side of the building here,” Bill said. “Wires were live, caught on fire in the mulch over here.”

Emma Lee was working inside at the time when the crash and fire happened.

“All of a sudden, the whole building shook,” Lee told Goetz.

With no power, the cafe was forced to close for a day and a half, losing business on top of paying thousands of dollars for repairs and electrical work.

“We’re a small business and we fight for every dollar we get,” Bill said.

The couple filed a police report and they said they reached out to Enterprise for help. The company told them they couldn’t narrow down the truck or driver.

“They said, basically their hands are tied and there’s nothing they can do,” Bill said.

Now out thousands of dollars, they’re asking for help from the community to locate the driver or for the driver to turn themselves in.

“There’s not a chance that driver didn’t actually know what he did, not a chance,” Bill said.

Enterprise Mobility sent Goetz a statement, saying: “We are aware of this incident and have provided law enforcement our full cooperation. The images we have been provided thus far of the truck in question do not show the license plate or DOT number of the truck. Because of this we are unable to identify the vehicle and cannot determine who may have been driving at the time the incident occurred. We will continue to provide our full cooperation.”

If you have information about the driver, you can report it to the Locust Police Department.

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