Driver mistakes accelerator for brakes, veers off parking structure next to Children's hospital of Orange County
A 69-year-old volunteer accidentally drove her car off a parking structure at the Children's Hospital of Orange County in what was a case of mistaking your gas pedal for your brakes.
"She drove off the parking structure and luckily landed only about 15 feet down on the roof of an adjacent building," said Orange Fire Department Captain Ryan O'Connor.
Luckily, no one was sitting on the rooftop patio and the volunteer was able to pull herself out of the flipped-over car. She was taken to a trauma center to be evaluated but didn't appear to be seriously injured.
Emily Long and other nurses were in class just below the point of impact and felt the room shake at about 8:45 a.m.
"The roof concaved and we heard this really big bang," said Long. "We weren't really sure what it was."
The loud bang was the 4,000-pound SUV crashing into the roof above them.
"We had like a pause and then we all looked at each other and said we should probably get out of here," said Long.
The SUV was lifted off the roof with a crane and gently lowered onto a flatbed tow truck, ending a rather scary morning for the nurses.
"I'm just thankful," said Long. "I feel like there were ea couple of angels watching over us. I'm just thankful to God.
Officials at Children's Hospital say safety is a top priority so they'll take a look at this incident and see if something needs to be done to prevent it from happening again.
