Unexpected Remodelling at 423 Hamilton Road ! by Mary Barker

Photo by Ingelbert Lievaart II St. George Meat Market, 423 Hamilton Road, shortly after the car was removed from the front of the building.

Noon hour - August 26, 2000: My boss, Mylo Bettencourt, dropped my son and I off at Bettencourt Computers, next door to, and attached to St. George Meat Market. Ana Tirolese, Mylo’s sister, had just stepped out. I walked my son around the corner to meet his father and had just returned to the shop. As I got about ten feet into the shop, I heard tires squealing. I turned around to see a car on its two wheels skidding sideways on Hamilton Road. I ran immediately to the phone at the back of the shop and I called 911. The operator asked if anyone was hurt. I heard CRUNCH, CRUNCH, SMASH!!!! from outside. Instinctively I covered my ears (so not to hear people screaming). I informed her “I can’t see anything from here.”

I stepped outside to see a red Corsica stuck in the front of St. George Meat Market. The driver stepped out and asked if she could use the phone. She was shaken up, but otherwise fine. Apparently she and a Greyhound bus were both trying to take over the centre lane Hamilton Road from Rectory Street. She clipped the side of the bus and lost control of her vehicle.

The ambulance and police arrived promptly. Salomão (Sal) Gomes, the owner, was outside getting ambulatory assistance for his wife, Lusitania (Lucy) Gomes. A large crowd had gathered by then. Most people were either from the community and/or customers of the Meat Market and were concerned for the Gomes Family’s welfare, and for any customers inside the store.

When Lucy and their son, Elder, walked out to the front where the ambulance was parked, I breathed a sigh of relief. I started talking to Elder and he said that, “his Mom, Dad, one customer, and himself were the only people in the store at the time. He had never seen so much pop fizz and fly by in his life!” Lucy had been pinned behind the counter, that had been pushed to the wall, and the scale, cash register, and other counter stuff was thrown onto her from the impact. She received some cuts and bruises and was in shock but otherwise unhurt.

Elder was also fortunate not to have been hurt. He was just walking towards the door when the accident occurred. It’s a shame that this happened to St. George Meat Market, but it could have been worse. We are all grateful that all our lives were spared. This has been a minor setback for “business as usual” for the Gomes Family. They are open for business once again. Thanks go out to all who have helped them get back on their feet. §