Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Gym-Goers Get Quite The Shock After A Woman Drives Her SUV Through The Wall Of A Planet Fitness In South Philly

Gym-Goers Get Quite The Shock After A Woman Drives Her SUV Through The Wall Of A Planet Fitness In South Philly
CBS Philly/YouTube, @ramirez_eyden/Twitter
Make us preferred on Google

With gym rats prepping their bods for warmer weather, even SUVs are hitting the gym.

At least that's what happened at a Planet Fitness in South Philadelphia on Sunday night when gym goers were shocked after hearing what they initially thought was an explosion.


According to NBC News, a driver of an SUV plowed into the Planet Fitness location in the Quartermaster Plaza shopping center near South 23rd Street and Oregon Avenue around 9:30 pm.

Miraculously, none of the approximately 20-30 people inside the facility were injured.

You can watch the CBS Philly news report of the off-roading incident here.

youtu.be

Witnesses who narrowly escaped the collision instantly shared footage from the wreckage with knocked-over gym equipment and shattered glass.



Customer Kaytylin Meeler told the news outlet:

"We saw the smoke coming from the back, walked up to the back and seen all the weights on the floor, the window shattered, the car inside the building."

Another customer, Sal Liciardello, told CBS Philly:

"All the dumbbells fell, all the free wights. So, you hear boom, boom, boom, boom, boom and smoke."

Gym goers noticed that the woman—who was reportedly in her 40s—had been driving erratically by a nearby Wendy's before losing control and slamming into the building.

Liciardello continued:

"People went over to her and asked her how she was. She wasn't responding very well but she was OK, at least physically, like breathing and in that way."
"When the police came, they just literally loaded her up, put a neck brace on and rolled her out to the ambulance."

Eyewitness Briana Meelee added:

"People were checking on her but she really didn't say anything, she was just sitting there staring."

The woman was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Gym goers either counted their blessings or missed seizing an opportunity.




People also wondered if the gym's iconic "lunk alarm"—which sounds off when it detects someone obnoxiously dropping their dumbbells on the gym floor—blared in the wake of the SUV's dramatic entrance.





This user reminded people of the gym's famous mantra.


There was one burning question.






Planet Fitness Senior Public Relations Manager Becky Zirlen said the fitness franchise is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

"The local Planet Fitness franchisee is actively working with the Philadelphia authorities in their investigation of this unfortunate accident and we are grateful to the local first responders who provided immediate assistance."

It could have been a lot worse.

The facility, which usually operates 24 hours, was closed overnight as crews cleaned up the horrific scene before reopening the following morning.

More from News

screenshot of debate video between Dan Sullivan and Mary Peltola

Dem Candidate Trolls GOP Senator After He Was Caught Looking At Her Debate Answer In Cringey Viral Video

On Saturday in Kodiak, Alaska, Senate candidates faced off at the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce fishery debate.

Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan was to spar with his Democratic opponent, former Representative Mary Peltola, who is Yup'ik and was the first Alaska Native ever elected to Congress. Sullivan is a lawyer and former state Attorney General. Peltola was a commercial fisher and former member of the state legislature.

Keep ReadingShow less
Abdul El-Sayed; Tucker Carlson
Finn Gomez/Getty Images; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Abdul El-Sayed Gets Unlikely Ally After Tucker Carlson Defends His Past Comments About 9/11 As 'Obviously Right'

Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed found an unlikely ally in far-right commentator Tucker Carlson, who defended him amid conservative outrage over El-Sayed's past remarks about the September 11 terror attacks and their aftermath.

Conservatives lashed out at El-Sayed, a democratic socialist, after the New York Post brought attention to remarks made about the U.S. response to the attacks during a Sept. 7, 2021, episode of the America Dissected podcast.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump and Laura Ingraham
Fox News

Laura Ingraham Pressed Trump On Why He Doesn't Just Give $5k To Americans 'Now'—And We Love To See It

Fox News host Laura Ingraham had people nodding their heads after she bluntly asked President Donald Trump why he doesn't just give people money now after pledging to give every adult American a $5,000 "dividend" check if Republicans win the midterm elections.

Democrats have dismissed Trump's proposal as a bribe, and an analysis by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget determined the proposal would cost taxpayers $1.2 trillion at a time when critics are calling for the Trump administration to reel in government spending on various projects during a nationwide affordability crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Celine Dion performs on the opening night of her residency at Paris La Défense Arena on September 12, 2026.
Samir Hussein/WireImage

Celine Dion Just Made Her Triumphant Return To The Stage After 6 Years—And She Sounds Incredible

There are comebacks, and then there’s Celine Dion walking back onto a Paris stage after six years and reminding everyone exactly who she is.

Over the weekend, the 58-year-old music icon took the stage at Plénitude Arena in Nanterre, just outside Paris, for her first full concert in more than six years. It was a milestone that once seemed anything but guaranteed amid her battle with stiff person syndrome.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mike Johnson; Brandon Herrera
CNN

Mike Johnson Slammed After Defending MAGA House Candidate Who Gave Babies NSFW Nickname In Sexist Rant

Gun-rights activist, firearms manufacturer, and Texas Republican House candidate Brandon Herrera has drawn widespread backlash over his repeated misogynistic attacks against women, for referring to children as "c*m trophies," and for calling a Nazi-era submachine gun "the original ghetto blaster."

Herrera posted all of this on his YouTube channel and stands behind all of it without apology.

Keep ReadingShow less