DELTONA -- A boy had just finished helping his mother unload laundry from the family van when she instructed the 17-year-old to go park it. The problem was he was unlicensed and obviously inexperienced at driving.
He ended up running over an 84-year-old woman walking by. This tragic accident is the 90th of Headline Surfer's top 100 local stories of 2012.
Rosa Mangan, who just turned 84 on May 1, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 4 p.m. Saturday, July 28 accident in the unnamed shopping plaza at 1200 Deltona Blvd.
"The boy was with his family and they were preparing to go into a laundromat," Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said. "They had just unloaded their clothes while parked alongside a curb and the boy's mother then told the boy to drive their van over to a parking spot. The boy was in the roadway in front of the businesses when his foot slipped off the brake and hit the accelerator."
The van kept moving forward, dragging the victim a short distance before releasing her, Haught said. "The boy then circled around and stopped near where the woman had fallen. He jumped out to check on her, but the van was still on and the parking brake wasn't engaged. The van rolled forward, striking the woman a second time and kept going until it nearly hit the front of one of the businesses.
The teen was cited for driving without a license, and the boy's mother was also given a citation for knowingly allowing an unlicensed person to drive. Because the young unlicensed driver was not charged with a felony, his name was not released.
Top 100 Countdown Recap:
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