Friday, April 1, 2011

April fools


One thing I noticed after moving to Florida 2 years ago is the unbelievable number of auto accidents involving drivers going through the walls of buildings. Without too much exaggeration, I can say that almost every morning when I turn on the news there is word of another car that crashed into a bedroom, or a store, or an office, or...

A building
For unknown reasons, a car left the South Dixie Highway and smashed through the concrete wall of a building in St. Augustine. The man and his wife were treated for injuries.

A living room
A Miami family was awakened at 4am when a truck came through the wall of their house, injuring the 6 passengers. "It sounded like the roof was coming down, and we just jumped up....All we heard was glass, and we looked, and the car - the part that was in the front - was smoking."

A motel
A driver and his passenger were injured when he lost control of his Mustang, which jumped a curb and crashed through the wall of a storage room at a Panama City motel.

A home
It was 5am when a vehicle struck a pole, knocking power out in an Ocala neighborhood before slamming into the living room of a sleeping family. "We heard a loud boom. We got up, didn't know what had happened at first. We thought somebody may have hit our cars in the front of the drive."

An apartment
A woman who mistook the gas pedal for the brake rammed through the wall of an apartment in Rowland Heights, injuring 6.

A townhouse
An elderly woman and her passenger were uninjured after she lost control and plowed through the rear sliding glass door of a Pembroke Pines residence. "It went all the way into the screened patio and hit the door."

A boutique
A man driving a Lincoln stepped on the gas instead of the brake, jumped a curb, and flew through the storefront of the Playne Jane Boutique in North Miami. “It sounded like an earthquake or a freight train, and I got up to see what was going on and that’s when I see my walls and everything was coming at me. It hit me hard, where the computer was set up....I’m screaming at that point."

A hair salon

A 59-year-old woman arriving for a hair appointment crashed into the salon near Cocoa. "She was our next client....She thought she had a little more room to pull up, but she hit the gas instead of the brake and drove straight through the wall."

A gift shop
In Rockledge, an 83-year-old man drove his Mercury Grand Marquis through the front of a diner's gift store, shattering a door and large French window. "I stepped on my brake, I stepped on and off the brake, I don't know what the hell happened," Pisano recalled about an hour later, eating a plate of food in the dining room.

A house

A Jeep Cherokee - possibly maroon - lost control of the vehicle around a curve, hit two mail boxes, and plowed through the wall of a house in Spring Hill. Then the driver hit a parked car and fled the scene after doing an estimated $15,000 in damage.

A car dealership

A 74-year-old woman drove her car through the service-shop wall at an Orange City car dealership, knocking an employee down and causing him serious injuries. She had placed her foot on the gas instead of the brake while trying to park.

A church
An 80-year old driver accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake as she was leaving the St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Tarpon Springs last week, crashing into the parish office. She caused $1,000 worth of damage, but wasn't hurt.

A house
After evading police and before being charged with DUI, a 21-year-old woman had to be extricated from her car after driving it through the wall of a house, waking a man and his wife. "She refused to get out and lit a cigarette."

All of these accidents - with the exception of the February crash of a car through the downtown Tampa office that insured it (pictured) - happened just last month! No fooling!

3 comments:

  1. http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx
    List of fatalities related to vehicles is on the decline :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're right: they're very common -- but not only in Florida. After recovering from being hit by a car that crashed into the Maryland convenience store I was exiting, I started StorefrontCrashes.com to track and discuss these accidents. Thanks for helping shine some light on this surprisingly stealthy safety problem!

    ReplyDelete

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