LYDIA — A loud crash Sunday caught the attention of Nadine Lloyd and Edward Navarre Sr. while in the parking lot of Hebert’s Mini Mart on Darnall Road.

Lloyd and Navarre, both natives and residents of Lydia, said the collision came from the adjoining parking lot, when a red 1998 Chevrolet Silverado that previously was parked in front of the U.S. Postal Service office suddenly accelerated and smashed through the bricks of the building’s front wall.

“We were sitting at Chevron and saw the truck pull up, and then suddenly we heard it hit,” Navarre said, adding the passenger was “OK.”

Acting Postmaster Bob Shivers evaluates the damage caused by a Chevrolet truck that smashed through the U.S. Postal Service office in Lydia Sunday afternoon. The crash is under investigation. - Patrick Flanagan / The Daily Iberian Advertisement

Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office Spokesman Lt. Ryan Turner said the crash was caused when the passenger, Mary Wilson, 48, unintentionally put the vehicle into drive, causing it to begin moving. To stop the vehicle, Turner said Wilson attempted to apply the break but instead pressed the accelerator.

Lloyd said the vehicle had two passengers before the crash, but after the man who was driving exited the vehicle and entered the post office, the vehicle began to roll backward away from the building in the direction of Darnall Road.

“She (Wilson) told me he (driver) had left the truck in neutral,” Lloyd said. “The truck was rolling back so she (Wilson) tried to hit the break but hit the gas instead.”

After a tow truck removed the vehicle, acting Postmaster Bob Shivers, who lives in Franklin, arrived on the scene.

“I’m waiting on a police report and for a postal inspector to evaluate the damage,” Shivers said.

Turner said no charges were issued since the accident happened on a private lot. No one was injured during the incident.