Artist crashes SUV through Piermont gallery

PIERMONT – Talk about an art opening.

A Pearl River painter ended up plowing her car right through the front of the Piermont Fine Arts Gallery at 300 Ash St. around 1 p.m. Sunday right before an exhibition of her work was scheduled to open.

The driver, identified by witnesses as Hilda Epner, lost control of her gold Lexus sport-utility vehicle. Witnesses said she was parking the SUV whe

she accidentally hit the accelerator, went over the curb and crashed through a large plate-glass window and into a wall hung with artwork.

"She literally rammed it at full speed," said Ron Wohlgemuth, 62, an artist at the neighboring Piermont Flywheel Gallery. "She took out a whole side of her gallery and mine."

After being removed from the wreckage, a shaken-lookingEpner asked to speak to her daughter, witnesses said. She appeared to escape without serious injury. A police dispatcher confirmed nobody else was hurt during the incident.

An exhibition of Epner's abstract acrylic on canvas paintings opened this weekend and runs through Sept. 14.

The crash sent scattered glass and debris into the parking lot and drew dozens of gawkers from the nearby boutiques, art galleries, cafes and upscale restaurants lining the village's waterfront.

Wohlgemuth put on a brave face after narrowly escaping the collision.

"I'm never calling a show 'No Boundaries' again," Wohlgemuth joked. "Because I guess there are none here."

Twitter: @alextailored