Sometimes this world is so crazy and mixed-up. To put together classic ingredients like a large, heavy automobile, an addled elderly driver, and a prime public area full of unwitting victims and not have it turn into a bloodbath is like putting a pan of Jiffy Pop on the stove and the aluminum foil not rising. What the heck? Do we not have popcorn, heat, and a foil tent here? The only reason people buy the stuff is to watch the aluminum foil expand:
A woman leaving a Department of Motor Vehicles office where she went for a state-ordered driver's license retest accidentally plowed her car into the building Wednesday, slightly injuring several people, the Florida Highway Patrol said.Therese Smith, 80, of Boca Raton, was easing out of a parking spot in front of the office at 100 S. Military Trail about 4:30 p.m. when she stepped on the gas too hard, propelling her 1990 Mercury Grand Marquis over a concrete parking block, onto the sidewalk, through a metal parking sign and into the windows of the DMV office, said Sgt. Mark Wysocky, FHP spokesman.
If she were an elderly driver Mystery Date she'd be the dud.
Posted by floridacracker at February 16, 2007 07:32 AMThis episode reminds me of an event that took place in St. Pete when I lived there in 1985-86. An elderly couple was headed out of town on 275 but instead of crossing into Tampa, they ended up on the bay. People do drive their cars off roads everywhere and ending up in the water is a strong possibility in Florida but they don't usually do it the way these folks did - by driving down one of the runways at St. Pete's airport.
Posted by: tfhr at February 16, 2007 01:10 PMthfr that is funny..
There are a few 'piers' around the intercoastal..that once upon a time actually *crossed the river* and were roadways...
We fished one near Anna Maria many times...occasionally it seems someone from the previous generation thinks they can still get across.
Seems like in Florida, if you are elderly, illiterate, illegal, or ill-repute..you *pre-qualify* for a D.L.
Posted by: csason at February 17, 2007 06:34 AMI always considered my driving experience in and around St. Pete to have been very effective training for the days ahead when I would be driving in third world countries. Now that I'm back in the US and living in the DC area, my experiences on the road in places where the drivers are either untrained, illiterate, suffering from dementia, chemically impaired, insufferably rude, or just plain lost, have paid big dividends - especially when the traffic is moving.
Posted by: tfhr at February 17, 2007 07:08 AMI thought the best part was that @ the end of the story the reporter stated that she would have to re-take her test.
DUH
Posted by: dayngr at February 18, 2007 10:21 AM