Texas Police Charge Driver After $50,000 Kroger Crash Over Bathroom Access

Q: What drove a 60-year-old man to violently ram his car into a closed supermarket just to use the restroom?

Police say the man was driven by an urgent need to use the restroom and anger after finding the Kroger closed. According to Rosenberg police, the 60-year-old arrived at the store around 4:28 a.m. on Sept. 27, when the supermarket was not open for business. Investigators said he became upset when he discovered the doors were locked and then intentionally accelerated his vehicle into the pharmacy entrance. The crash caused major damage to the front of the store, including shattered glass and bent metal door frames, and the vehicle reportedly ended up inside the building. No injuries were confirmed in the reports available at the time. Authorities arrested the man and charged him with criminal mischief. Police have not publicly identified him in the accounts cited. So, based on the facts released by law enforcement, this was not an accident or a theft attempt. Investigators say it was a deliberate act triggered by bathroom urgency and frustration at being unable to get inside. Rosenberg police also used the incident to warn people to look for an open business rather than force entry into a closed one.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 28

$50,000 in damage was left at a Rosenberg, Texas, Kroger after James Mansell Lancaster Jr., 60, intentionally drove his 2006 Chevrolet HHR through the closed store’s front doors before 4:30 a.m. Sunday.
Police said Lancaster told them the doors were locked and he needed to use the restroom; the SUV rolled past cereal shelves and stopped near a Halloween candy display.
No one was injured, though employees were stocking other parts of the supermarket when the crash happened, and Lancaster remained at the scene.
Lancaster was charged with criminal mischief involving more than $30,000 and less than $150,000 in damage—a third-degree felony—and was being held Monday in Fort Bend County Jail.
Kroger said it would not release security footage and was cooperating with law enforcement as the investigation continues.