Car crashes into women's clothing store in Vrilissia after driver confuses reverse with forward gear
An automatic SUV smashed through the glass front of a women's clothing store on Pentelis Street in Vrilissia on Monday, 13 July 2026, after the driver accidentally selected first gear instead of reverse. No one was injured.
What happened
A car drove straight into a women's clothing boutique in Vrilissia, a suburb northeast of Athens, shortly before midday on Monday. Security camera footage captured the moment a dark SUV shattered the glass shopfront on Pentelis Street and continued into the interior, scattering clothes racks and merchandise. Employees and customers inside the store are seen fleeing in panic seconds before the vehicle came to a stop against a concrete column.
Eyewitnesses told local media the driver had just finished shopping and returned to her parked car outside the store. She intended to reverse away from the kerb but engaged the wrong gear. A resident described the sequence to iefimerida.gr.
She wanted to go backwards, released the handbrake and went forwards.
Cause of the crash
The vehicle is an automatic. Multiple reports agree the driver selected first gear while believing she had put the car into reverse. When she pressed the accelerator the SUV lunged forward instead of backwards, mounting the pavement and crashing through the full-height glass display window. The car then pushed through clothing racks and hangers before hitting a concrete pillar inside the shop, which stopped it.
NewsIT cited the Orange Press Agency in confirming the gear-selection error. SKAI noted the car was an automatic and that the intention had been to reverse. No mechanical failure has been suggested by any source.
Injuries and damage
No injuries were reported despite the vehicle entering an occupied retail space. Articles from in.gr, NEWS 24/7, and Skai all use variations of "fortunately, no one was injured" or "by luck there were no injuries." The glass facade was destroyed and there was extensive damage to clothing stock and interior fittings. Images and video show shattered glass across the pavement and inside the shop, with bent metal racks and clothes strewn on the floor.
- Driver parks outside clothing store on Pentelis Street, Vrilissia, and shops inside.
- Driver re-enters vehicle intending to reverse; mistakenly selects first gear.
- Vehicle mounts pavement, smashes through glass shopfront and enters the store interior.
- SUV strikes clothing racks and merchandise, coming to rest against a concrete pillar.
- Driver exits shaken, apologises to staff; passers-by assist. Tow truck removes vehicle, repair crews arrive.
Immediate aftermath
The driver exited the vehicle in shock, apologised to staff, and embraced the female employees working at the store, according to iefimerida.gr. Passers-by who witnessed the crash rushed to the scene to offer assistance. A tow truck later removed the SUV, and repair crews arrived to board up the shattered shopfront.
Media coverage
The accident was widely reported across Greek news outlets within hours, with multiple sites publishing the security-camera footage. H Kathimerini, NEWS 24/7, in.gr, iefimerida.gr, SKAI, and NewsIT all carried the story on 13 July, emphasising the absence of casualties despite the dramatic visuals of the SUV coming to rest inside the store.
