WEST YELLOWSTONE — A vehicle crashed into a family-owned gift shop in West Yellowstone last week, sending merchandise flying and narrowly missing several employees inside.
Surveillance video shows the moment a car drove straight through the side of the Cradleboard Gift Shop, shattering glass and sending merchandise across the store.
Watch the video here:
“It was just absolutely crazy,” said shop operator Jennifer Reinsch.
Reinsch said she received a call about the crash on Friday and has since reviewed video and photos of the aftermath.
“She calls me, and she's just like, ‘Oh my God, a car just drove through the side of the building,’” Reinsch said.
The vehicle traveled several feet into the store, coming close to hitting an employee.
“It was all the way in the store, not even sticking out a little bit — it was a couple of feet in the store,” she said.
Reinsch said her father-in-law was behind the counter when the crash happened. Glass shattered around him, and he was briefly buried under debris.
“You can literally see it hit so hard it just tipped over and just shattered,” she said.
The shop, known for selling Yellowstone-themed souvenirs ranging from jewelry and clothing to rocks and hats, sustained significant losses as items were thrown throughout the store. The Merchandise damages totaled 17,000 dollars.
“We had so much stuff just fly everywhere,” Reinsch said.
West Yellowstone police said the driver was operating a rental vehicle and that the crash was accidental.
The West Yellowstone police chief tells MTN the vehicle was a rental car and drugs or alcohol were not factors.
As cleanup continues, Reinsch said the experience is something she will not forget.
“You watch stuff like ‘caught on camera’ and think that will never happen to you — but it can happen to anybody,” she said.
Despite the damage, Reinsch said insurance is expected to cover repairs and lost merchandise, and she hopes the business will continue for decades to come.
“People have been coming since my husband was 2 years old and he's 50 now, so they’ve watched him grow up,” she said.
She said the incident reinforced what matters most.
“The building can be replaced — people can’t,” Reinsch said.
The store is expected to be repaired sometime in May. In the meantime, it remains open to customers through a single entrance.
