No felony charges will be filed against the 79-year-old woman who drove her car into an Edmonds picture-framing shop in March, seriously injuring the owner.

“There is no evidence to support felony charges … such as vehicular assault” against Lorraine Novack of Edmonds, said deputy prosecutor Paul Stern on Tuesday, July 3.

Stern said his office made the determination based on an investigation by the Edmonds Police Department. “There is sadness that Ms. (Barbara) Mercer was badly hurt … but no evidence to support felony charges,” he said.

The matter was referred back to the Edmonds police for consideration of non-felony, traffic-related charges, Stern said. Sgt. Don Anderson, spokesman for the Edmonds police, said it is likely second-degree, negligent-driving charges against Novack will be filed in Edmonds Municipal Court.

Novack was driving a 2006 Lexus GS3 automobile on March 16 when it accelerated in the parking lot of a strip mall anchored by Petosa’s Family Grocer. The Lexus crashed through a fence and concrete-block wall before stopping inside Barbara Mercer’s framing shop at 514 Fifth Ave. S. in downtown Edmonds.

The 65-year-old Mercer was rushed to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. She is recuperating in her Lynnwood home, which she shares with her husband, Charles. Mercer still is undergoing medical treatment for her injuries.