Selig’s to remain open
during building repairs

Owner: Store’s marble mitigated crash

If not for the solidness of its century-old foundation, the damage at Selig’s jewelry store from a runaway sport utility vehicle Tuesday might have been worse, the store’s owner said.

Allison Cianciulli said Wednesday that the marble slabs covering the base of the store’s display windows helped blunt the SUV’s momentum as it hurtled into her store.

“One thing that kind of saved (the vehicle’s driver) from going any further was that wonderful marble,” Cianciulli said.

The marble beneath the left display window of Selig’s now features a severe crack where Cianciulli says the Jeep Grand Cherokee continued to accelerate even after hitting the building.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the mishap, said Cianciulli, who was not in the store when the incident occurred about 2 p.m.

Two Selig’s employees were at the back of the store when 88-year-old Clifton Agusta Schodt drove his SUV into the building. In addition, no customers were in the store or out on the sidewalk window shopping, Cianciulli said.

“It could have been so much worse,” she said.

Schodt, of the 1700 block of Soundneck Road, Elizabeth City, was not injured in the incident. He was taken to Albemarle Hospital immediately following the crash as a precaution, police said.

According to a police accident report, Schodt was parked in front of the Chesson-Lowry building on Main Street facing west when his Grand Cherokee quickly accelerated, striking a car in front of him. From there, the SUV turned southeast, drove across the sidewalk and a canopy pole and struck the Selig’s storefront. The accident caused approximately $25,000 worth of damage to the Selig’s building, the report states.

Cianciulli, who has owned the downtown institution for five years, said she was on her way to a nearby bank when she saw fire trucks headed toward her store. After calling the store, she was alerted about what happened by a store employee. She said she sprinted to the scene after parking her car.

Cianciulli said the store, which closed Tuesday but reopened Wednesday, will remain open while repairs are made. Her plan is to have the work completed in time for holiday shopping.

Schodt won’t face any charges as a result of the accident, police Lt. John Etheridge said. However, police most likely will report the incident to the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles so it can conduct an evaluation of Schodt’s driving, he said.

Selig’s dates back to 1882 when Louis Selig came to Elizabeth City from Norfolk, Va. and started the jewelry store. His two sons, Frank and Julian, both used the storefront after him. Frank Selig continued the family business while Julian Selig practiced optometry in the building.

Frank Selig’s son, Billy, operated Selig’s until the mid-1990s.

Cianciulli bought the business in 2003 from Lucy Gordon and Harriett Hornthal who had purchased it from the Selig family.