An SUV crashed into the Zahara Dispensary in Attleboro, Mass., at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, according to Michael Kochekian, the dispensary’s general manager, who was on-site at the time. Three customers and the driver of the SUV suffered non-life-threatening injuries, said Kochekian, who said that the original police report stating that a dispensary employee was among the injured was just “slightly wrong,” leading to multiple incorrect media reports.
“None of the employees were injured, thank God, but obviously it was a traumatizing experience, so everyone was [shaken] up,” Kochekian told Cannabis Business Times.
“First responders found a Nissan Pathfinder that had crashed through a wall and came to a stop about 15 feet into the store,” according to a statement from the Attleboro Fire Department (AFD). A 62-year-old Attleboro woman was driving the SUV, the fire department reported. The crash has been under investigation, and as of April 19, Kochekian had not received any updates from the AFD nor the Attleboro Police Department (APD), which is leading the investigation. The investigation is “still open and ongoing,” a representative in the detectives’ department of the APD told CBT on April 19. CBT also contacted the Attleboro Fire Department to inquire about any new information but had not heard back at the time of publication.
Kochekian was in the back of the building with Zahara’s inventory manager and retail manager when the crash happened, he said.
“We just had gotten out of one of our internal meetings, just sitting there talking about it, recapping,” he said. “Then, all of a sudden, we just heard a big crash and bang. And honestly, my first instinct was I just thought it was like a rack of product that just fell down.”
As Kochekian and his colleagues were rushing toward the front of the store, he heard screams, he said. “One of my budtenders came out screaming for us, and once we ran onto the sales floor, we saw a car right in the middle of the dispensary. So my first instinct was to make sure everyone was OK and then call 911.”
None of the injuries were critical, he said, and he visited one of the injured customers, whom he believes had sustained some broken ribs, in the hospital. “I'm still trying to find the other victims to reach out.”
Zahara has created a GoFundMe effort to help those who were injured. “I think right now we have just around $6,000 raised for the victims. All proceeds will go towards the victims to help pay their medical bills of any kind,” Kochekian said.
"This could have been 10 times worse. It could have [happened] during one of our busier times of the day—people could have been killed—but we are just very fortunate that it didn't," he said.
While the damage to Zahara Dispensary looked substantial, a city building inspector said there was no structural damage, Kochekian said, and insurance will cover the costs for the repairs.
Ready for the 4/20 Holiday
Zahara’s owners “jumped on [the situation] immediately,” Kochekian said, and because they also own a construction company, the dispensary was able to get back up and running quickly. “[The damage] did look substantial, but it could have been a lot worse,” he said. “Luckily there was no structural damage. It was just a wall, which was just some beams, the plywood and all that, whatever they used to patch it up, but definitely could have been a lot worse in that regard. So the fact that they were able to get everything up and running and patched up pretty quickly was amazing.”
While downtime is not good for any business, reopening its doors was especially a priority for Zahara with the 4/20 cannabis holiday—the most important sales day of the year for most dispensaries—just nine days away.
“Our 420 event was right around the corner. So that was a big thing as a priority to make sure that we were up and running, approved by the city and approved by the CCC [Cannabis Control Commission], which we were,” he said.
So, Zahara’s second annual Smoked Out 420 Fest, which last year drew 600 attendees, according to the company, will go on as planned.
The event, which will be held from noon to 6 p.m., will feature a food vendor, Reds Kitchen, and “we’ll have Primo Bartending—they're an alcohol vendor,” Kochekian said. “It's kind of funny that there’s no consumption of cannabis on the property, but you can consume alcohol, which is kind of silly, but that's the way the regs work, I guess.”
The Smoked Out 420 Fest will also feature live music, and Ramiro and Melissa from the GetUp Crew from Hot 96.9 will be on-site. “We also have some giveaways. We have a ton of deals running. We're doing a raffle for Apple Vision Pro and then some Usher tickets, which is great,” Kochekian said. “It's going to be a fun-filled day and, you know, positive vibes.”
Kochekian said it was also important for Zahara to get up and running “to keep providing for the community,” which has been there for Zahara during this ordeal.
“The city and the town, all the community in general, has been really supportive,” he said. “We appreciate the continued support, and, you know, everyone's been in open arms really trying to help us get back up and running. And I just want to show some thanks to the city of Attleboro, the paramedics, the first responders, everyone for jumping on the scene immediately to help with the incident.”
