Car Crashes Into Pasadena Liquor Store, Driver Reports Brake Failure

A woman lost control of her vehicle early Monday morning and crashed into the front of a closed liquor store on East Colorado Boulevard. Police said she reported afterward that her brakes had failed.

Police Lieutenant Anthony Russo said the single-vehicle collision occurred at 1:43 a.m. at the intersection of Sierra Madre Villa Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.

The driver, a woman in her 30s and an Arcadia resident, was traveling southbound on Sierra Madre Villa when she told officers she was unable to stop and drove straight through the intersection, striking the front doors of Sunshine Liquor at  3360 East Colorado Boulevard.

The woman, the sole occupant of a 2025 Chevrolet Trax, suffered minor injuries, including cuts and abrasions, Russo said. 

Sunshine Liquor was closed at the time of the crash and no one else was injured, according to Russo.

While the vehicle struck the building’s front doors, Russo said the structural damage was not significant enough to require the building to be red-tagged. The store’s ownership was notified and responded to secure the premises.