For the second time in just more than a month, an elderly driver has lost control of her vehicle in a parking lot and crashed into an occupied building.
Unlike last time, however, when a woman was killed and three others injured after a car plowed through a mall bus shelter, this time only the motorist suffered minor injuries.
At approximately 10 p.m. on Saturday, an 86-year-old woman crashed her vehicle through the window of a Harvey’s restaurant on Montreal Road, near the Aviation Parkway. Ottawa Police Sgt. Paul Batista said it appeared the woman mistook the gas pedal for the brake while turning around and plowed her vehicle through the front corner of the building.
Fortunately, no one was seated in the front part of the dining area near the window when the car crashed through.
Paramedic team leader Cory Van Delst said the driver appeared anxious and shaken following the incident, but suffered only minor injuries in the collision. She was transported to Montfort Hospital for observation.
No charges will be laid since the incident occurred on private property.
By yesterday morning, plywood boards had been erected in place of the shattered window at the restaurant, but shards of glass and overturned tables and chairs were still scattered inside. There was a deep tire divot in a small patch of grass in front of the building.
A Harvey’s employee, sweeping outside, said the car had driven clear into the restaurant.
Representatives from Harvey’s would not comment on when the restaurant would reopen.
It’s the second time in a month that an elderly female driver has smashed into a building. On April 2, Claire Blouin, 84, allegedly lost control of her vehicle in front of the Lincoln Fields shopping centre and plowed into a bus shelter, killing 66-year-old Jacqueline Dyrkton.
Dyrkton’s grandson, a 77-year-old man and an 89-year-old woman were also injured in the collision.
