METHUEN — The owners at Piro's Bakery plan to make a special cake for 2-year-old Riley LaFlamme.
Riley and his mother, Amanda, were standing at the counter inside the bakery Sunday morning when metal shelving and glass went flying.
An 87-year-old woman had driven her car over the curb and through the front plate glass window of the store at 300 Merrimack St., police said.
A store employee told police the motorist got out of the Ford Taurus "and came into the store like nothing had happened."
Amanda LaFlamme said last night she was at the store buying pastries for her parents' anniversary dinner that night. She said she heard a "huge crash" and a shelf pinned her against the counter after the car came into the building.
"He (Riley) fell on his face and was under all the pasta boxes and we were both covered with balsamic vinegar from all the bottles that were on the shelf," LaFlamme said.
"I remember saying, 'Where's my baby' and looking for him under all the boxes," she said. "I'll tell you, those maternal instincts kick right in though."
Riley had a cut lip and was crying hysterically, she said.
Police and rescue crews arrived in "what seemed like seconds," LaFlamme said.
The ambulance crew checked out Riley and the mother took him home to let him calm down.
"With the exception of a few bumps and bruises, knock on wood, we're OK," she said.
The owners of Piro's called LaFlamme at home to check on her and her son, and told her they want to make a cake for her son.
Tony Piro, co-owner of the bakery, was in a back room at the time of the crash, but heard the commotion.
"Overall, we were lucky," said Piro. "I was worried I was going to see bodies all over the place."
Meanwhile, according to the police report, the motorist, Helen Koczat of Methuen, had her driver's license confiscated by police "until a review was made of her ability to operate safely."
According to the police report, Koczat told an officer that "she did not know she drove into the building. She did not remember using the brake or the accelerator."
Store employees Michelle Pham and Andrea Bergeron were waiting on customers when the accident happened.
Pham, 17, felt the building shake. "It was all pretty much a blur," she said, adding that she then witnessed Koczat get out of the car and walk into the store.
The car knocked out a steel column, a wood support beam, and shattered the front windows. The accident also ruined several thousand dollars worth of pastries, bread, and other assorted foods.
The business was opened yesterday.
