Customer 'lucky to be alive' after 4WD smashes cafe frontage

Three people have been injured, two seriously, after a car crashed into the front of a cafe in northern Tasmania. A woman who narrowly escaped being struck says she feels "lucky to be alive". What's next? Police say the circumstances of the crash are still under investigation, but early indications are that it was not a deliberate act by the driver. Two people remain in hospital with serious injuries after a car smashed into a shopfront in northern Tasmania yesterday evening. Two people sitting outside and a staff member inside the Shearwater Food Company, at Shearwater near Devonport, were all injured. Tasmania Police Inspector Michelle Elmer said a 26-year-old woman was taken to the Launceston General Hospital (LGH). "She remains in the LGH with serious injuries," Inspector Elmer said. "A 60-year-old man was taken to the North West [Regional] Hospital with injuries and was later released, and the staff member was transported to the North West Regional Hospital and is still in hospital with serious but stable injuries." The crash, involving a four-wheel drive vehicle, took out the front of the building and caused extensive damage inside. Inspector Elmer said there were two people in the vehicle, and the male driver was treated at the scene by paramedics but did not need to go to hospital. The male passenger also received minor injuries. Police earlier described the driver as "elderly", and that he had been "attempting to park outside" the cafe. "It's believed that it [the vehicle] was in a parking manoeuvre prior to it going over the footpath," Inspector Elmer said. "It wasn't at road speed; however, it was still significant enough to cause injuries and hit the building." Inspector Elmer said no charges had been laid. "Initial investigations indicate that this was not a deliberate action on behalf of the driver, but as to what caused the crash is still under investigation," she said. 'Lucky to be alive' A woman who narrowly escaped being struck said she felt "lucky to be alive". The woman, who did not wish to be named, said she was sitting at a table near the door of the cafe on Club Drive when she heard tyres screeching about 6:45pm. "I swung around, and I saw the car coming through the glass window and it missed me by inches," she said. "Everything just happened so quickly." The woman said that, while she was not hit, if the crash had happened even a few minutes earlier, that may not have been the case — due to where she had previously been standing. "It's still a huge shock, I'm still in shock now and I think I'm going to be for a little while." Inspector Elmer said police wanted to talk to anyone else who was at the cafe at the time, any other witnesses or anyone with information that may help the investigation.