A black Volkswagen Tiguan was filmed smashing through the Boots shop in Liverpool city centre while passers-by went about their Christmas shopping.
Terrifying footage shared on social media showed the moment the car ploughs into the busy store.
The video shows the calm before the crash, with huge queues of people waiting to pay inside the store.
Outside, the black Volkswagen runs over a metal bollard before smashing its way into a number of aisles inside Boots.
Many shoppers ran or dove for cover, including a woman pushing a pram through the gift aisle of the Boots.
Once the car came to a stop, a crowd of people rushed towards it, including one woman who dropped her basket on the floor.
Merseyside Police rushed to the scene on Edge Lane just after 2pm on Thursday.
The car’s driver was treated at the scene while one person in the store was treated for shock, according to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service.
Fortunately, there were no other injuries.
Officers said the motorist had already crashed into three empty parked vehicles outside before plouging into the Boots store entrance.
Joan Crawley, 72, from the L6 area of Liverpool, was in the queue at Boots when she heard what she described as an “almighty bang”.
Joan said she “couldn’t move” after going into shock as the car smashed into an aisle of Soap and Glory gift sets, which were spread all over the floor.
She told the Liverpool ECHO: “I was inside Boots coming down towards the till, there was a big load of people waiting and I was at the back of that – which was just by the front door.
“Next thing is I heard an almighty crash when all the frame of the door, window and everything came down.
“This car came flying at me through the door and missed me by about four or five inches.
“It [the car] came at me and just slammed in.
“I couldn’t move and it just went on with people coming over and trying to get us outside, but then shock took over and I was just no good.”
Joan said that a stranger, Sandra Lamey, 52, who helped her escape from the melee, was a real “hero”.
Eyewitnesses described the scene at the retail park as “bedlam”, with some products left strewn across the floor.
Merseyside Police are now asking for witnesses and anybody with CCTV or dashcam footage to contact @MerPolCC online using log 465 of Thursday, December 7.
