New video shows how close a car was to hitting people as it rammed into the Hassett Ace Hardware store in Redwood City. It happened on Monday. Officials say the driver appeared to confuse the brake with the gas pedal. Video from inside the store shows employees behind the counter and several o thers inside the store when a car crashes through the windows and sparks a fire. The car barely missed one of the employees. “I had a really hard time watching it, because I saw how close we were to losing employees,” said Eric Hassett, owner of Hassett Hardware. The footage shows a child walking in the area right before the crash. “The little girl in the video is one of our employee’s daughters and seeing that she was right in the spot where the car came thru eight seconds before was really hard, really scary,” Hassett said. The video also shows employees quickly springing into action, grabbing fire extinguishers to try to put the fire out. “I was very proud of my team, they did a very good job at checking the store, making sure everybody exited safely, we used I think three, four fire extinguishers trying to put the fire out,” Hassett said. No one was hurt. Redwood City police say this appears to be an accident in which a driver mistook the gas pedal for the brake pedal. Although Hassett says the fire damage is minimal, the water damage from the fire sprinklers is extensive.  “We had probably a half inch of water standing throughout the business,” Hassett said. He says it’s too early to have a clear timeline for reopening, but it could take a few months. It’s a family business – his grandfather opened the first store in the 1950s and Hassett says it’s been about community so he’s determined to open this store back up. Meantime, he says he’s also focused on his employees. “So far we’ve just told them we are going to pay you, that’s just what our organization is going to do, we’re gonna keep them gainfully employed, there’s no plan for anything else,” Hassett said. ...read more read less