A Lively Senior Moment

Shortly after 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 6, a 91-year-old man crashed his Dodge Caravan into the entrance railing outside the CVS/pharmacy in the Imperial Beach Promenade Shopping Center.

According to a San Diego sheriff’s deputy on the scene, the driver “…forgot he had put the parking brake on…” as he was maneuvering into the handicapped spot.

The driver’s car jumped the sidewalk, traveled 12 feet into the walkway railing, bending it over several feet, snapping the bottom railing in half. The car’s engine continued to accelerate against the steel bar supports, the spinning tires leaving thick skid marks.

“He got confused with the pedals,” said Sgt. Lopez, who issued the driver a citation. A community service officer on the scene taking pictures was asked if the driver had a license. “Yes,” he answered, “but probably not after this.”

After the driver signed his citation, he handed Lopez several religious pamphlets before heading into the store to pick up a prescription.