Small Business Support

A small business in Scituate, Massachusetts, is recovering after a dump truck crashed through its front entrance on Wednesday.The Collective Co., a coworking space on Gannet Road, is a “woman-centered workplace oasis,” created to help build networks and uplift women.Owner Rachel Meyers said she was just pulling up to the business in her car when the crash happened, around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday.”I was emotional and I was trying to just process what had happened,” Meyers said. “I happened to just be in the intersection, the car that got hit in the intersection was two cars ahead of me, so I witnessed it happen firsthand, which was pretty scary. All I could think was if anyone was in the entryway when it happened.”The dump truck’s brakes failed as it was coming down a hill and attempting to stop at a red light at the intersection of Gannet Road and Country Way. The driver then lost control, hitting an SUV in the intersection, before the dump truck sped between two poles and crashed through the entrance of the business.”Literally right between, I don’t know how it fit,” Meyers said, pointing to the poles and to the entrance of her business.Meyers’ husband, Brian, described witnessing the crash from inside the business.”A Jeep came across the intersection and the dump truck that was coming down the hill never stopped at the red light,” Brian Meyers said. “So he just came and t-boned the Jeep right here and it launched the dump truck right through this narrow area of these poles.” The crash left glass and debris scattered around the front of the business. The impact was so severe the bricks at the entrance of the business were pushed inside. However, nobody in the business or in the dump truck was hurt.”The dump truck went all the way back to the back wall… bounced off the back wall… and came to rest right here,” Brian Meyers said pointing to the site of the crash.”What was scary was that one of her (Rachel’s) members was sitting right here, working, head down in her laptop.”Meyers said she had just set up a new retail experience for the coworking space. She said she would have been right at the entrance, putting some final touches on the display, had she not been running a little late. Newly-bought products were damaged or destroyed and new furniture was mangled as a result of the crash. Cushions inside were also bounced away from seating areas and an inside wall now appears to be peeling away.However, Meyers said she plans on reopening the business as soon as she can, citing the strong community she has created by opening the business to support it.”We’re all about building networks (and) helping uplift women,” Meyers said. “I got about 100+ text messages this morning, which just shows the strength of that community.”Meyers said anyone who wants to support the business in the meantime before they reopen, can buy gift cards and gift certificates online.