6.02.2010

Elderly Driver Hits Gas Instead Of Brake, One Dead



A tragic accident in Peoria, Arizona (suburban Phoenix). An 87 year old driver parking at a Walgreens hits the gas instead of the brake, jumps the curb, hits and kills a store employee on break.

Two remarkable things...the car was a Honda, and there was no discussion of unintended acceleration...just an admission from driver and police that it was a case of standing on the wrong pedal.

This incident has a lot of similarities to all the Toyota incidents that have fueled the unintended acceleration frenzy the past few months. And when properly investigated, the end result is the same. If floormats aren't trapping the gas pedal, it's usually driver error.