A blast from a nearby quarry sent rocks as big as basketballs hurling into an auto dealership at Highway 153 on Tuesday evening.

"Fortunately, there were no customers on the lot, and many of the employees had gone," salesman Tom Phillips said.

He estimated that Village Volkswagen had half a million dollars worth of damage.

Mr. Phillips said 25 cars were damaged and the building also received extensive damage.

He said it happened at 6:50 p.m. after the parts and service departments had closed down and the mechanics had gone home. But he said the sales staff and management were still at the site on International Drive off Shallowford Road.

Mr. Phillips said he heard the rumble from the nearby Florida Rock Company and saw a mass of mud and rocks coming. "I tried to warn people, but by the time I turned around it had already hit," he said.

Mr. Phillips said, "It was like a major war explosion. If you consider how dark it got during 9-1-1, it was like that. All of a sudden we were covered with dust and there were 5,000 rocks the size of footballs coming into the store."

He said some came crashing through the ceiling, while others knocked out windows.

Mr. Phillips said a rock the size of a basketball came through a plate glass window into the space "where our receptionist Susie Humbard has been for the past three years. We had moved her the day before to make way for a salesman."

Mr. Phillips said, "What I want to know is who is allowing this blasting to go on. This is the third time it has happened. Last year it was the Abra body shop and six months ago it was Saturn.

"Had anybody been on our lot last night they would have been either killed or very badly hurt."

Mr. Phillips said operators of the quarry contacted the dealership and were delivering lunch on Wednesday.

He said officials of the firm "said it was an out-of-town company doing the blasting. They say they are investigating it."

He said officials said that the blasters had hit a section of mud that caused the explosion.

Auto dealer Nelson Bowers recently reacquired the Volkswagen dealership.

The state fire marshal's office was looking into the incident.