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When Ashburton retailer Mayank Patel went to work last Thursday, he never imagined he would have a near-death experience.

But that is exactly what happened when a car ploughed through the front of the Allenton Fresh Supermarket.

And, the whole ordeal was caught on camera.

The scene of the crash. Photo / Supplied

Patel was working behind the counter on May 1 and just before 6pm he went to restock the cigarette cabinet behind the counter.

All of a sudden, there was a huge crashing sound and a car hurtled into the shop, forcing the cabinet into Patel and crushing him against the counter.

“My first thought was, ‘What will happen to my 4-month-old daughter, what’s she going to do without me?’” he said.

“I wasn’t thinking about myself at all - I was so worried about my wife and daughter.”

Patel said at first he thought the store had been ram-raided.

He scrambled - in pain and with an injured knee - out from under the wrecked counter and went to the exit.

Emergency services converged on the Allenton Fresh Supermarket. Photo / Supplied

He saw the driver of the car was a woman. She had two teenage passengers.

Patel quickly realised the incident was an accident.

He called emergency services and police, fire and ambulance converged on the Harrison St scene.

“It was my worst nightmare,” he told the Herald.

“I have a knee injure and a bit of pain but I am ok. I didn’t tell my wife for a few hours - after all the police left.

“She was scared for me.”

The owner initially thought he had been ramraided. Photo / Supplied

The store was closed briefly but was open for business as usual by Saturday.

Patel posted a message to customers on Facebook.

“We want to sincerely thank everyone who reached out with concern and kind words after the recent accident at our store,” he wrote.

“Your support truly meant a lot to us during this unexpected time.”