Everyone seems to know at least one person who they think should probably not be allowed to drive; whether it’s irresponsible behavior as it comes to drinking and driving, constant speeding, or using their cell phones while behind the wheel, there are countless examples of people who should at least be required to take a class before getting their driving privileges back. Then there are the car accident stories; while most peoples’ accidents are fairly mundane, there are some accidents that raise a lot of questions—like “why would anyone do that?” “How distracted was this person?” or “What on earth were they trying to do?” The following stories are like that.
The Spokane Valley Department of Licensing was forced to close down for a time in 2010; the reason was that a car crashed into the building. Ironically, the man driving the car was pulling into a parking spot at the DOL for the purposes of renewing his driver’s license—which no doubt raised a few eyebrows among the clerks in that department in light of what happened next. The driver’s foot slipped off of the break and onto the gas pedal, causing the car to jump the curb and go three quarters of the way into the building. Fortunately, the building was quickly evacuated, and only one person reported minor injuries; however, the driver most likely had more than the usual trouble with getting his license renewed.
If you live out of your car, as they say, there is probably a fair amount of trash hanging around at any given time—but consider yourself a saint in comparison to the woman whose car was so chock-full of garbage that it caused her to have an accident. In 2007, then 53-year-old Ann Biglan’s Ford Focus was so full of trash that it completely stuffed the inside of the car from floor to ceiling, in the front and the back. How she could have stood to drive in the car is anyone’s guess; Biglan was backing out of a parking space several old coffee cups and other trash fell onto the gas and brake pedals, causing her to lose control. Hopefully, Biglan developed cleaner habits after the incident.
Finally, last year 66-year-old Mary Hasselberger was involved in two different car accidents in two days. The first accident occurred on a Thursday afternoon, when police said that the woman plowed her Ford Taurus through a wooden fence separating a Dunkin Donuts parking lot from a private residence. The car barreled into the yard until it was stopped by a tree and a bench. The very next afternoon, Hasselberger was driving a rented Buick Lacrosse when she crashed through the wall of an eye care center located just three doors down from the site of the first accident. A local police Sargent suggested that maybe the woman was getting her brake and accelerator confused; perhaps she was attempting to get to the eye care center all along.
While these are far from all of the crazy car accident stories from recent years—there are several more—these are some of the funnier ones; fortunately no one was seriously hurt. Car accidents can be very traumatic experiences, however, and certainly they are to be avoided.