PORT TOWNSEND — A 78-year-old woman was injured Monday morning when the car she was driving went out of control as she left a car wash.
She apparently caught her shoe underneath the gas pedal.
At around 11:15, the unidentified driver was pulling out of the carwash at 515 Howard St. when the car shot past several employees who were waiting to dry it off.
“As soon as the light turned green and she put it into gear, the wheels started to spin very fast,” said manager Tom Zmolek.
“We didn’t know which way to move because we were watching what she was going to do.”
Car wash employee Susie Tweedy was watching from a different angle and had given the driver the signal to proceed.
“She came out of the tunnel at what looked like about 40 mph,” she said.
“I had to jump out of the way.”
The car, a white 2002 Honda Civic, veered around the building and into the adjacent woods, where it landed against a tree.
Zmolek said the driver was able to maneuver the car although she could not stop.
She was conscious when paramedics arrived and told them that her shoe — an open-toed slip-on with a wooden sole — slipped off her foot and became lodged underneath the accelerator pedal.
The car’s airbag was deployed at impact.
The driver was taken out of the car by paramedics and taken to Jefferson Healthcare hospital, where she was admitted for treatment.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.