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COURIER photo/Gabriel Fenoy
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| Vendors clean fruit from the street as Claremont Police Officer Jacob Tillman looks under a Honda Accord moments after the car—driven by a 77-year-old Claremont woman—sideswiped the fruit stand before hitting a nearby tree Sunday on Second Street at the Claremont Farmers’ Market. No injuries were reported at the scene. |
Car swipes through Farmer’s Market
Tragedy was narrowly averted Sunday afternoon when a woman lost control of her vehicle while driving near the Farmers’ Market in the Village. The 77-year-old Claremont resident managed to avoid striking any pedestrians or market workers before colliding her Honda Accord into a tree. No injuries were reported.
The incident lasted only seconds as the woman attempted to park her car in the Wells Fargo parking lot at the corner of Indian Hill Boulevard and Second Street. The woman told police that she accidentally mistook the accelerator for the brake pedal.
As the woman inadvertently hit the gas, her car climbed over a one-foot brick wall that separated the parking lot from the sidewalk on the north side of Second Street. She managed to steer her vehicle away from the crowd of pedestrians and booths in the busy market.
After smashing 2 boxes of cherries and coming inches from sideswiping a produce booth, the runaway vehicle struck a Sycamore tree where it came to a final halt.
-Farmers working near the accident site were “clearly rattled” over the crash, said Rick Moore, Manager of the Farmers’ Market from the Claremont Forum.
“Through the graces of God, all that was damaged were some boxes and chairs,” Mr. Moore said.
The accident is reminiscent of a deadly incident that occurred at a Farmers’ Market in Santa Monica in July 2003. An 86-year-old man mistook the gas and brake pedals and drove his car through a crowded street. Ten people were killed and another 63 were injured in the incident.
Organizers of the Farmers’ Market in Claremont said they learned a lesson from the Santa Monica tragedy. After the incident, a decision was made to better secure the street for pedestrians by parking a large truck and a Jeep at either end of Second Street during the market’s operating hours from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Mr. Moore said that he had already spoken with police and city staff to come up with more safeguards for pedestrians at the Farmers’ Market. He also planned to meet with Wells Fargo management to discuss how a similar incident could be avoided in the future.
In a similar incident the night before, a woman crashed her vehicle into the side of the Claremont Bible Chapel located at 432 Harrison Ave. Around 8 p.m., a 75-year-old Claremont resident was traveling southbound on Indian Hill Boulevard and failed to stop at the stop sign on Harrison Avenue.
After crossing the street, she drove her Lexus through some bushes and a chain-link fence before colliding with the sidewall of the chapel and a gas meter. A gas leak forced the evacuation of several neighboring homes in the area. (story continues below)
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COURIER photo/Gabriel Fenoy
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| A Honda Accord rests idle on a tree trunk moments after a 77-year-old Claremont woman mistook the gas pedal for the brake while attempting to park, sideswiping a fruit stand at the Farmers’ Market on Sunday. |
Alarming Trend
The Farmers’ Market crash was not the first incident where an elderly driver mistook the gas for the brake pedal.
“It’s been [a] more common [problem] among elderly drivers,” Claremont Police Lieutenant Shelly Vander Veen said.
In May, a woman drove her car through the front window of Bags & Bobbins, a vacuum and sewing shop located at 855 W. Foothill Blvd. While attempting a parking maneuver, the 81-year-old Claremont resident told police that she accidentally hit the gas pedal rather than the brake.
The car ended up completely inside the store, damaging several display tables and merchandise. A building inspector visited the store and required it to close down due to the severity of the structural damage.
In March 2007, another woman crashed her car into the same store in a similar fashion. During that incident, the 87-year-old Claremonter also mistook the brake for the gas pedal and crashed her car into a wall near the front entrance.
In 2004, an 83 year-old Ontario resident was attempting to park her vehicle in front of Podges Juice Co., located at 124 Yale Ave. She pressed the accelerator rather than the brake pedal and struck a man who was standing in front of the business before crashing into the store.
DMV Policy
After each incident, law enforcement required the drivers to take exams through the Department of Motor Vehicles to ensure that they are still competent and safe drivers. The review includes vision and written examinations as well as a driving test. If they were unable to pass the tests, their licenses were revoked.
Beginning at the age of 70, holders of driver’s licenses must renew their licenses in person every 5 years, said Jan Mendoza, spokesperson for the DMV. If family members, neighbors or law enforcement officials are concerned about a driver’s ability between the 5-year renewal period, they can submit their information to the DMV for mandatory testing, Ms. Mendoza said.
Elderly drivers are often not happy over the prospect of giving up their driver’s licenses.
“It is a loss of independence,” Ms. Mendoza said. “[A driver’s license] is something that can be really hard to give up for people who’ve been driving for 50 or 60 years.”
According to research done by the DMV, people tend to drive less as they get older, but may develop cognitive or physical ailments that hinder their driving abilities. The result is a high rate of crashes per miles by elderly drivers.
“Senior drivers tend to compensate for their limitations by changing their driving habits, avoiding situations in which they are uncomfortable such as driving at night, in inclement weather or on freeways, and also driving fewer miles overall,” Ms. Mendoza said. “As a result, their overall crash rates per driver are among the lowest of any age group, and only become elevated after about age 85.”
—Tony Krickl
