LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A Thursday vehicle crash resulted in injuries and led to a temporary closure of retail services at the Clearlake Oaks Post Office, which is set to reopen on Saturday.

The Clearlake Oaks Post Office is located at 13280 E. Highway 20.

“A runaway vehicle crashed through the building yesterday, forcing retail operations to be temporarily suspended,” a Friday statement from the US Postal Services’ San Francisco office said.

Sgt. Joel Skeen of the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the crash occurred when a young woman accidentally stepped on her vehicle’s gas pedal rather than the brake pedal.

He said it caused a wall collapse and resulted in minor injuries to a little girl and an older man inside the building.

“Nobody was in need of medical transport so pretty minor overall, other than the building damage,” Skeen said, adding that no drugs or alcohol were suspected as factors in the crash.

Postal Service spokesperson Kristina Uppal said the vehicle hit the front entry portion of the building where the postal lobby is located, causing damage to a window, walls and postal equipment, and making it unsafe on Friday to open for retail services.

“Efforts are underway to make the building accessible and safe. We appreciate our customers' patience as we recover from this accident,” said Uppal.

Uppal said PO Box mail and packages were available for pick up at the rear entrance of the building during normal business hours on Friday, while retail operations were available at the Clearlake Post Office, 14500 Olympic Drive.

“This is again just a temporary closure of retail services only for the safety of our customers and staff,” Uppal said Friday.

Later on Friday, the Postal Service reported that the Clearlake Oaks Post Office would resume retail services and lobby access on Saturday on its regular schedule.

The Clearlake Oaks Post Office is open for retail operations and PO Box pickup from Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to noon.

Many retail services including temporary forwards, stamps and more are also available anytime, online at https://www.usps.com/.

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