Some Kirkland residents would like to see the Totem Lake Malls remodeled – but not necessarily demolished. Denny’s Pet World got a head start on some uninvited remodeling on Tuesday afternoon as a woman drove her SUV through the front wall of the beloved business.

“It was loud,” said Denny’s manager Kelley Parson, who was at the front register. “It sounded like a bomb went off.”

Police Lt. Mike Murray said that the elderly woman accidentally drove the Mazda through the front wall, at about 12:11 p.m. The SUV plowed through six aisles and nearly ran a woman over. The victim hit her head and was treated at the scene. A gigantic hole in the storefront could be seen across the parking lot on 120th Avenue Northeast with debris scattered about the inside and outside of the store.

The driver of the vehicle was stunned by her actions, said store staff.

“I ran until I heard my mom say she was okay and then I took a deep breath,” said Lacey Webber, who works with her mother Julie at the store. Julie was near where the car hit at the time helping a customer find a pet collar. “(The driver) was just sitting there staring straight ahead.”

The Kirkland Fire Department transported the driver to Evergreen Hospital for observation, according to Murray.

The customer who hit her head was very lucky to avoid being hurt.

“If she had been 25 seconds slower she would have been hit by the car,” said Denny’s manager Starla Morton.

“Once I saw her I made sure that no one was crushed and I called 911,” said Parson.

Store employees later pushed the car out from inside the store and it was still operational. An estimate for the damages was not known at press time. The business was preparing to board up the hole with plywood late Tuesday afternoon.