STORY UPDATE: Cinna, the dog missing after the car crash was found last night. Cinna will be going to a local animal hospital to be checked out in the morning.
As a business owner, you anticipate normal wear and tear to your property. But there was no way the owners of Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming in National Hills could anticipate what happened at their business over the weekend.
Early Sunday morning, a person drove a car into the store located in front of The Fresh Market at 2701 Washington Road, Suite 22 in Augusta. No customers or customers’ pets were in the store at the time of the accident, but one of the store’s employees, who is pregnant, was hit by the car and taken to the hospital with minor injuries. She has since returned home. The employee’s dog, Cinna, ran away after the accident and was spotted on several occasions Monday and Tuesday, but has not yet been caught. The driver was also treated for minor injuries.
In a Facebook post, the business announced it will remain closed for the near future. According to the Facebook post, the owners are working with their insurance company and the landlord on how to proceed with repairing the building.
ABD contacted Summer Bennett, Woof Gang’s co-owner, but she declined to answer any questions and said they are dealing with traumatic issues.
When a business faces an issue like this, who pays for it usually is an insurance question. ABD asked local State Farm Agent Keith Perret about it. He said in this type of case, the driver is generally responsible for covering the costs of damage to the business and the employee’s injuries.
“If he doesn’t have insurance coverage, he could and most likely would be sued by the business to pay for the damages,” Perret said.
If the driver is uninsured and has no assets, owners can usually file a claim on their commercial insurance, but that varies based on many factors, such as the type of coverage they have and how the policy is written. Woof Gang could also file a claim on its liability insurance to cover the employee’s medical expenses.
“It doesn’t sound like the business has any liability for the woman who was struck,” he said. “Again, it would be the responsibility of the driver, in my opinion.”
The business, which sells raw, frozen, and grain-free pet food and offers grooming services, used to be located in the Washington Crossing Shopping Center, which was, at one time, anchored by Whole Foods. It moved to its current location in December 2021. The owners also plan to open another location near Kroger on Washington Road in Evans.
Founded in 2007, Woof Gang has more than 100 franchise locations throughout the United States.
