King Cronic, a cannabis store located at 1110 E. Yelm Ave. in Yelm, was smashed by a car around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 13. The driver of the auto accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake and crashed his vehicle through the front window.
Two employees, including manager Nikita Davis, and one customer were in the store at the time of the incident. No one was injured, and no arrests were made.
The crash took out a wall and structural support, as well as smashed glass. King Cronic, which has now endured three such crashes since last August, was forced to close as an engineer determined whether the building was structurally sound for the business to operate. Approval was given, and the business is waiting for the City of Yelm to “give the green light,” Davis said.
“I’m hoping it will be done today,” Davis said Wednesday of the City of Yelm’s pending approval. “The engineer said he was going to get it done as fast as possible, knowing that we need to open and operate. If not today, tomorrow.”
King Cronic was the victim of a smash-and-grab after midnight on June 4 as three suspects were caught on surveillance cameras crashing through the front door and stealing products from the store. The business was also smashed and burglarized on Aug. 29, 2023.
Davis said the necessary repairs from the latest incident will be different from the June crash as Tuesday’s accident caused more damage to the structure of the building, whereas some of the wall was destroyed and a door popped out two months ago.
While King Cronic had several yellow poles to prevent such crashes in the entrance, or at least reduce damage, Davis hopes that this incident will alert the owners of the lot to provide more protection.
“More poles would be nice. More poles would have been nice if we would have had them all the way around the building. Our glass walls were exposed, and they only protected our front door and it obviously wasn’t enough,” she said. “I’m hoping maybe the owners of the lot will be kind and give us a couple more poles so we can avoid it again.”
Davis said she and the staffer present at the time of the crash are “a little shaken up” and ran to the break room and bathroom to avoid harm from the car plowing through the window. She added that the loss of business each time such an incident occurs is hurting the shop and its employees financially.
“It’s a hassle. We have to deal with the insurance again. We have to shut down. So it’s not only a loss on the shop financially, but for the employees that are working. We really rely on tips,” Davis said. “It hurts when you have to tell [customers] ‘Sorry, we’re closed.' Then you know they’re going to your competitors. We could have used those customers here.”
