A man slammed his Dodge Challenger into a convenience store in Rocky River, Ohio last week and promptly told an employee that he wanted a beer in what was a bizarre and rather sad incident.
Fox 8 Cleveland reports that the driver, Robert Mason, 45, crashed into the store and then barricaded himself inside the store’s beer cooler.
Police arrived on the scene shortly after and a police body camera captured officers negotiating with Mason who, as it turned out, was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because of his previous work in the military.
Authorities were ultimately able to arrest Mason after deploying a Taser. He is now facing charges including OVI and reckless operation. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in the incident, but if it wasn’t for a stroke of luck, that may not have been the case.
Speaking to the media, an employee at the store said he could have been killed by the car and was only saved because he was pushed back ten feet by the deli case which Mason drove into.
According to Rocky River Police Chief Kelly Stillman, “Had the car been over a couple more feet, he was hurt, it could have been serious bodily injury, even possibly death. I mean that’s a four, five thousand pound automobile coming at 30, 40 miles an hour. He was lucky, very lucky.”