A 91-year-old driver in New York Mills, NY, first crashed into an attendant’s booth at a Citgo gas station before crossing a five-lane road and going through a service bay door and striking a lift at Richards Tire & Auto Service.
Below is the article as it appeared on the Observer-Dispatch website.
Woman, 91, crashes into booth, repair bay
By EMERSON CLARRIDGE
Observer-Dispatch
Posted Apr 07, 2010 @ 09:07 AM
Last update Apr 07, 2010 @ 11:52 PM
NEW YORK MILLS — A car driven by a 91-year-old village woman veered out of control at speeds of about 50 miles per hour Wednesday morning, striking businesses on opposite sides of Commercial Drive and narrowly missing bystanders, authorities and witnesses said.
“It was a flash of white when she came into the shop,” said Richards Tire & Auto Service manager Kharl Swartz, who said he and two co-workers rushed to get out of the way when the driver, Stella Miasko, headed in their direction.
Miasko was backing her Plymouth Sundance out of Richards at about 9 a.m. when she accelerated across the five-lane roadway and crashed into a vacant attendant’s booth at a Citgo gas station, New York Mills police Chief Robert Swenszkowski said.
As people who had been pumping gas at the station scattered, Miasko almost immediately headed back toward the auto repair shop, again crossing Commercial Drive.
The car went through the repair shop’s repair bay door and struck a car lift, police said. No one was working in the bay.
That Miasko avoided colliding with vehicles or striking pedestrians was remarkable, Swartz said.
“It could have been much worse,” he said.
Swartz said employees who checked on Miasko said she asked what had happened.
Miasko was treated for minor injuries at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica, police said.
She was interviewed by police at the hospital, and Swenszkowski said the investigation was ongoing. No tickets had been issued.
The car’s brakes would be checked, Swenszkowski said.
Miasko has a valid driver’s license with full privileges that is scheduled to expire in October, a spokesman for the state Department of Motor Vehicles said. A review of her driving record revealed no significant violations, the spokesman said.
To read this article on the Observer-Dispatch website, visit http://www.uticaod.com/features/x1838129719/Car-reportedly-crashes-into-gas-pump-in-NY-Mills.