Two women suffered non-life threatening injuries Sunday evening, when one accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal while trying to park, causing her to drive off the third floor of a parking structure in San Diego’s popular Fashion Valley Mall, nosediving into the ground.
According to local Fox affiliate in San Diego Fox 5, the accident took place around 7:30 at the paring structure near Nordstrom. The car plunged 40 feet, landing upside down on its roof. Both women were reportedly able to exit the wrecked vehicle on their own prior to the arrival of paramedics, and were conscious and breathing. They were taken to the Scripps Mercy Hospital by ambulance out of an abundance of caution.
“Honestly they’re very strong women, when they pulled them out of the car, they were still walking,” Natalia Somo told local ABC affiliate in the region 10 News.
“From what I’m being told, this is not the first time it’s happened here at Fashion Valley Mall,” an officer told Fox 5. A female shopper suggested the driver may have been texting while driving.
Just six hours later in Mission Bay, San Diego around 1:30 a.m. on Monday morning, firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to rescue a woman who crashed into a palm tree before bouncing back into the street. According to 10 News, she was driving extremely fast and had broken bones in both of her legs including some bones that came through her skin. It took 30 minutes to extract her from the vehicle.
Her injuries are reportedly non-life threatening. Investigators are looking into the possibility that she was under the influence of alcohol.
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