VIDEO: Woman crashes car into Vaughan bakery, goes to get nails done

Bakery Jeep

A vehicle drove through the front of Guilty Pleasurez Dezzert Cafe in Vaughan March 3. - Simran Bawa

Simran Bawa used to be an IT worker who did baking in her spare time.

"It was my passion," she said.

When she quit her job and opened a bakery at 28 she faced her fair share of challenges even finding a landlord that took her seriously.

Two years after opening, she was forced to endure the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, just as she was getting back on her feet, she is facing what she is calling a "third blow".

"I feel like I'm starting from scratch for a third time," she added.

It came March 3 at around 8:30 a.m., when she received a barrage of phone calls first from the owner of the neighbouring business, and then from her security company.

When she checked her store, a Woodbridge bakery called Guilty Pleasurez, on Marycroft Avenue, what she saw stunned her — a Jeep Cherokee that was sitting in the front of her shop.

That image, though, wouldn't end up being the biggest shock of the day. When her husband and brother showed up to the location, they discovered that no one had yet contacted police.

After calling police, a man showed up at the bakery suggesting he was the husband of the woman who crashed the vehicle before getting in the vehicle, backing it out of the store and driving off.

Before he left, though, he advised Bawa's husband that his wife was in the nail salon getting her nails done.

When Bawa's husband went to check on the woman's safety, she giggled and said she was fine.

"She was left with pretty nails while I was left with a sh**show," Bawa said.

When Bawa spoke to the owner of the nail salon, the owner said she was badly shaken up when the incident happened and tried to reschedule the nail appointment with the woman, but the woman was adamant.

Bawa said the salon owner told her the woman wanted her nails done right then and there, as she had to attend a party the next day.

Currently Bawa, who lives in Brampton, is struggling to conduct business with huge pieces of plywood where her showcase windows once were.

"Every time I see the store, it just looks closed down. There's no light coming in. I have no display. I get so much business from people looking in the window to see what I have."

Although it's unclear exactly what happened prior to the crash, Bawa remains confused because there is an eight-inch curb and a ledge in front of the store.

"I don't understand, as you'd have to be going at a high-rate of speed in order to climb the curb and smash through the window," she said, noting the brick and concrete the windows sit on top of are crumbling as a result of the crash.

Police told Bawa the woman, who claimed she pressed the gas instead of the brake, will not be charged.

Bawa is still wondering when the window will be repaired. She said part of the problem is that three insurance companies including her own, the landlord and the building owner will be involved.

"I have nothing to say about her," she added. "It takes a different type of mindset to do this and go on with your day like nothing happened. I expected an apology that I didn't get. I always thought that was just the human thing to do. I have all of this on my head because of someone else's stupidity."