THE VILLAGES, Fla. — A motorist suffered a medical episode while driving through a Publix shopping center in The Villages, seriously injuring several people as his vehicle crashed into a storefront.

  • 3 pedestrians, driver of vehicle all hospitalized in serious condition
  • Troopers: Mercedes crashes into Salon Jaylee
  • 1 of the pedestrians was 13-year-old boy struck by debris

The 2008 Mercedes car crashed into Salon Jaylee next to the Publix at the 3475 Wedgewood Lane in the Southern Trace Plaza, off Belvedere Boulevard and East County Road 466.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 55-year-old Steven Read of Oxford, Florida, was behind the wheel of the Mercedes and headed east through the shopping center when he had some sort of medical emergency.

The car traveled up onto a sidewalk in front of Publix, hitting several planters. Debris from the planters hit 67-year-old Monica Pittman of The Villages. The car continued to travel on the sidewalk and struck 72-year-old Joyce Manns of New Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Read's car then struck a 2011 Lexus car before crashing into the storefront of Salon Jaylee. Debris from that crash hit 13-year-old Lincoln Gagne of Leesburg, troopers said.

All three pedestrians were transported to hospitals.

Read, the driver who suffered the medical episode, was also hospitalized in serious condition, FHP said.

"It was just like it was like something you would see in a movie, not something you would see on a daily basis,"  said Jennifer Caprio, who works at restaurant nearby called Giovanni's. "To my understanding, he was having a seizure, because he was waving his arms and shaking ... I saw a Villages student. He had been pushed back through the glass of Jaylee Salon. He was very trembled and shook up."

The FHP took over the investigation from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. Salon Jaylee employees said their store would be closed at least Tuesday.

CORRECTION: Spectrum News was originally told by law enforcement that the vehicle crashed into the Publix. We updated the story and headline to reflect that the vehicle crashed into the Publix plaza.