'My damn phone's not working': Man goes off on Verizon staff before crashing car into Raleigh store

An angry customer demanding that Verizon Wireless workers fix his cellphone smashed his car into a Raleigh store Thursday night, police said.

Charles Michael Hager, 74, of 1705 Nottingham Road in Raleigh, was charged with six counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of injury to real property.

None of the six employees in the Verizon store at 4421 Six Forks Road at the time was hurt, police said.

A man who called 911 said Hager initially kicked out the glass in a door before driving his 2006 Volkswagen Jetta into the building. He then backed halfway out before getting out of the car and just standing in the parking lot, the caller said.

"He drove through the damn front door. All the glass is shattered. It’s amazing. His front end is still inside the store. I’ve never seen anything like it," the caller told the 911 dispatcher.

"After he argued with the staff?" the dispatcher asked.

"They were closed. They closed at 8 o’clock. He said, 'My damn phone’s not working. I need help. Open the damn door,'" the caller said. "He got in his car and just drove right in the damn door. Now he’s pretty calm."

Corina Newton, who works at a nearby North Hills restaurant, said Hager told anyone who asked him if he was OK that he intended to crash into the store.

"They were closed. I don’t know why you would just drive your car into the door," Newton said. "I guess he wanted them to be open. He just seemed really mad they weren’t open.

"He was just yelling and throwing stuff and telling them he needed to leave," she added, "but he couldn't get back in his car because that was ruined."

Hager was released on a $7,500 bond and is due back in court in September.