Reminiscent of the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market tragedy in 2003, in which 10 people were killed when an elderly driver drove through a crowded Farmer’s Market, a child watching Santa Monica’s 4th of July Parade was struck by a car driven by an elderly driver.
Despite barricades erected to prevent just such an occurrence, the driver got around the barricades and drove onto the parade route. Her driving was described by witnesses as “dangerous” and “fast.”
At the time the car, a burgundy Toyota Scion, barreled onto the parade route, the sidewalks on Main Street were packed with parents and children. Parents grabbed their crying children and pulled them out of the path of the driver.
The driver’s car hit a child who was standing on Main St., between Ashland Ave. and Hill St. Parade bystanders surrounded the car, banged on its hood, and forced the driver to stop. According to witnesses, the elderly driver, in her late 70’s, looked confused and turned on the wipers as the angry crowd pounded on her windshield.
The child she hit suffered only minor injuries.
A public information officer with the Santa Monica Police Department, Sgt. Richard Lewis, said that months earlier, the driver lost her driver’s license when she failed a reissuing test. The driver told police officers that she had been planning to re-take the test the day after the parade, on July 5th.
Santa Monica police cited the driver and ordered a DMV Driver’s Reevaluation, which will require the driver to pass a driving test and written test before she can regain her driver’s license.
If you are in need of a Los Angeles personal injury attorney, call the lawyers at McGee, Lerer & Associates for a free consultation: (800) 999-9948. Attorneys Catherine Lerer and Daniel McGee have each been representing serious injury car accident victims in Los Angeles for over 18 years.