“Witnesses said they heard ‘bang, revving, bang, revving, then a crash’.” – Officer Buster. / Courtesy photo by Andy Jacaway
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
An elderly driver accidentally rammed a building three times yesterday before the front end of his Cadillac broke through an exterior wall scattering shoppers at the VF Factory Outlet in Centralia.
Nobody was injured, even though it was a fairly busy day, according to Centralia Police Department Sgt. Carl Buster.
The Longview man, 90, and his wife were still sitting in the vehicle when police arrived, with the nose of the sedan inside the store, according to police.
“It was fortunate, not a single person got hurt,” Buster said.
Police were called about 2:15 p.m. to the 100 block of High Street, just east of Interstate 5.
The couple had finished shopping and were exiting a parking spot in front of the store, Buster said.
Witnesses outside told police the car backed up, struck a vehicle behind it, shoving it into a second vehicle and then the man put his car in drive and went forward, jumping over the curb and hitting the building, according to Buster.
Witnesses said the engine was revved up really high, Buster said.
“One witness said the guy backed up four or five feet and then hits the building a second time,” Buster said. “He backs up for a third time, and this time he goes through the wall like two feet into the store.”
People inside the store were crying, saying they had no idea what was happening, Buster said.
Sarah Cain said it seemed as though an angry customer had decided to ram the building on purpose, and she watched as items tumbled off a nearby shelf.
It sounded like a bomb going off, Cain said. She estimated there were about 50 customers inside.
“By the third time, people were running out of the building screaming,” she said.
The damage to the Cadillac was surprisingly minimal, but it left a hole in the stucco wall about the size of the hood of a car, Buster said.
The car was towed though, because it lost some fluids, he said.
Officers decided not to ticket the man because it was on private property and there was no criminality involved.
“He said, ‘That car is so quiet and sound proof; I couldn’t hear the engine revving’,” Buster said. “He thought he was pushing the brake.”
Damage to the car was minimal. “It would have been a great Cadillac commercial.” – Officer Buster. / Courtesy photo by Megan Wilber
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
My Great Aunt gave up her license before she turned 70 because of a tiny finder binder in a parking lot. When she went to the DMV with her decision they thanked her and said they wished more drivers would be that responsible. I know it is a hard freedom to give up but really come on.
It happens…I crashed into Video Update one time driving my friends POS car with no reverse that misfired on 2 cylinders when I was 18…and he’s 90. Menace is a strong word..he’s just an old man who needs a chauffeur not a Caddi. Everyones insurance will cover it or his will and no one got hurt. Look on the bright side…at least he didn’t have a meth lab in his trunk like so many fine LC residents.
Ok so am I the only person that was in stitches reading this? Yes maybe it’s time to punch a hole thru his license, but no one was hurt and come on u guys..its pretty effin funny
That’s because your son was on a public roadway, and not private property. When it’s on private property it’s at the property owner’s discretion. Had he left the roadway then hit a building it would be different.
Disgusted, this was private property. I do not want the boys in green (or blue) coming onto my property issuing tickets to people if I allow them to drive on my own property. As such, I feel the police had no right to ticket this driver. That being said, there is absolutely a case, if not an outright NEED to remove this type of driver from our roadways. With all the inattentive drivers, young drivers and people driving under the influence of alcohol (not to mention the bevvy of other recreational and prescription drugs people feel the need to drive while taking) there just is not room for people who cannot even tell if they are moving forward or backwards. So what if he has good insurance, he is a menace and needs to have his license revoked for the good of public safety.
No citation? Are you kidding? My son hit a patch of ice and gravel in an area where they were doing road construction out by Mossyrock and spun out. Nobody was injured and there was no damage to his car, yet a prick working for the WSP wrote him a ticket for “wheels off the roadway!”
The man is 90 years old, for God’s sake. It sounds to me like he should not be behind the wheel of a car if he can’t tell the difference between the brake and the accelerator pedal. And even if he couldn’t hear the car revving, when it moves forward or backward, your foot is obviously not on the brake, so that’s a lame excuse. I guess the guy will have to kill someone before they take appropriate action or remove his driving privileges?
With oversize fuel tanks!
I think they should outlaw Cadillacs as assault weapons