Photos for Headline Surfer® / NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- Police remain baffled as to why a 78-year-old woman backed her Chevy Malibu 40 feet into a medical buildingthe afternoon of Feb. 5, killing one man and injuring two others.
"It's bizarre," then-police spokesman Sgt. Eugene Griffith told Headline Surfer®. "We're still trying to determine exactly what happened. Apparently, she hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, but it remains under investigation as to why."
"It's bizarre," then-police spokesman Sgt. Eugene Griffith told Headline Surfer®. "We're still trying to determine exactly what happened. Apparently, she hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, but it remains under investigation as to why."
Cops received several 9-1-1 calls in response to the 2 p.m. Wednesday accident, including one from this frantic caller who said in part: "You need to get here now, that's all I know!"
The elderly driver, Janet Spurgeon, was seen briefly in the ER at Bert Fish Medical Center for minor injuries after backing into the Coronado Medical office building owned and operated by Bert Fish Medical Center, cops said.
Edmond Kestory, 63, of Edgewater, shown here at left, was receiving treatment inside the medical facility when he was struck by the errant elderly driver's car that backed 40 feet inside and did shortly after he was airlifted to Halifax Medical Center. Edmond Kestory, 63, wasn't so lucky. He was was airlifted to Halifax Medical Center under a trauma alert, but he died a short time later.
George Snyder, 76, also was was taken to Halifax under a trauma alert, but his injuries, though significant, weren't considered life threatening, police said. And a third person in the lobby, 88-year-old Florence Hopko, was treated and released from nearby Bert Fish Medical Center.
The two-story structure sustained significant damage and remained closed the rest of the week.
The driving mishap of an elderly motorist resulting in the death to another in a medical care facility comes in at No. 60 in the HeadlineSurfer.com countdown of the top 100 local stories of 2014.
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The HeadlineSurfer.com Countdown of the Top 100 Local Stories of 2014...
61. Daytona Beach Shores cops: St. Augustine man killed in fiery car crash caused by excessive speed
95. Holly Hill boy stands tall with biggest catch of his life in NSB fishing tourney: 2-foot redfish
The Headline Surfer® Countdown of the Top 100 Stories of 2014, is sponsored by Edgewater Towing & Myron's Auto Service of Edgewater, FL. 