Minivan careens into Ga. jewelry store

OCONEE COUNTY, Ga. (CNN/WGCL) - A minivan narrowly misses running over a customer at a jewelry store in North Georgia, and the whole crash was caught on camera. 

"Glass breaking, I look at and there's the hood of a car coming through my glass," said jeweler Bryan Exum. 

Exum watched the whole crash unfold right in front of her.

"I checked to see if my daughter was OK,” said Exum. “She was basically was under the diamond showcase."

In the video, you see Exum’s daughter, Chandlee Epps, working with a customer right when the van careened into the store. 

"Heard, what I now know to be, the revving of an engine,” said Epps. “Looked to my right and blinked, and there was a van in the store and my customer was missing."

There was flying glass, and the window's frame hit a customer, 63-year-old Rita Jones. Employees rushed to her rescue.

"She said, ‘Can you please help me up? Where's my purse?’” said Exum. “She was all very sedate and smooth, soft-talking. She said her head hurt a little bit. Well, I guess so. It was split open in the back. She now has 12, 15 staples.”

The driver told police a carbon dioxide canister lodged itself against the gas pedal, forcing the van into the store.

"The woman finally found the brakes, the pedal on the left,” said Exum. “So she did slam on brakes. We have the skid marks on the carpet still."

The store reopened for business in a matter of days, but you can still see damage on some of the showcases. Exum said it's a miracle nobody was seriously injured.

"We ask now that everybody -- we're ready for the Christmas rush -- but if you don't mind, please park outside first," said Exum jokingly.

The jewelry store owner said the driver isn't facing any charges or citations for the accident.

She estimates the damage from the accident will cost her more than $30,000. That includes damage to the building and lost jewelry.