‘She doesn’t remember anything,’ brother says of woman hurt in Central crash

A family-owned dry cleaning business in Saskatoon is picking up the pieces after a minivan plowed through the front of its store Tuesday, injuring two people.

The crash happened over the lunch hour at The Clean Shoppe on Central Avenue, a block from the old Sutherland Hotel.

Two people were inside — a customer as well as Mike Reddekopp’s sister, Melissa, who was behind the counter.

Melissa suffered a broken arm and a fractured pelvis. The female customer’s injuries were described by police as life-threatening.

“She was in critical last we heard and that’s all we know,” Mike Reddekopp said Wednesday. “Melissa is doing OK. She’s at home temporarily, but otherwise she’s OK.”

The Saskatoon Fire Department said it received a call just before 12:30 p.m., about a minivan inside a building at 705 Central Ave.

Reddekopp said his sister doesn’t remember what happened.

“She was up front with a customer, she saw white and the car and that was it,” he said. “She doesn’t remember anything after that.”

The 31-year-old man driving the minivan and his 10-year-old child weren’t hurt.

Reddekopp said there wasn’t an estimate on the damage done to the dry cleaning business or the building.

“It’s way too early to tell,” he said. “We’ll see.”

Besides, his concerns were more for the woman who was in the store with his sister.

“Thoughts and prayers to the customer that was at the front of our store,” Reddekopp said. “Just keep her in your thoughts.”

The Saskatoon Police Service is still trying to determine the cause of the crash.

— With files from 650 CKOM’s Brent Bosker