Englewood, NJ – A 90-year-old driver accidentally hit the gas pedal on his new car while at a busy Palisades Interstate Parkway gas station and drove into the storefront of the station, according to police.
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The driver and his 80-year-old passenger sustained head injuries in the 11:11 a.m. accident Wednesday at the Sunoco stateion on the southbound side of the parkway in Englewood, NJ, but Lt. Michael J. Coppola of the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police said no one in the store was injured.
Coppola said Martin Mermelstein of Sunnyside, Queens, drove his new Honda Civic to the gas station and stopped for fuel. While at the station, Coppola said Mermelstein accidentally stepped on the gas pedal when he meant to step on the brake pedal, causing the car to jump a curb and hit the Sunoco store.
The crash damaged the front wall of the store and moved the checkout counter out of place. Mermelstein and passenger Lorraine Mermelstein, also of Sunnyside, were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center for treatment. Coppola said neither of them appeared to have serious injuries.
Workers were making repairs to the store soon after the accident.
The gas station is a busy stopping point for drivers, especially those headed to the nearby George Washington Bridge. For New York drivers from Rockland County, it’s a popular spot to stop for get gas at lower prices than at New York gas stations.
Content provided as courtesy of Patch.com
No one should be driving a car once they reach 90 years of age. They are putting their life as well as those of others in danger.
With the greatest respect to my aging dad whom I love dearly, there should be a driving competency test every year after a certain age (75?). There is no other way.
Refuah Sheleimah to both
90 years old and driving, is dangereous to society!
I agree with #6 ; there has to be a mandatory driving skills test of ALL drivers, every few years. As it now stands, once someone is granted a driver’s license at an early age, they can continue to drive with very bad driving habits for 60 or more years, until they either die, injure, or kill someone. We have seen too many of these cases, whereby drivers step on the gas instead of the brake, and disaster follows. There was a case in Santa Monica, CA years ago, where an elderly driver did just that, and killed over a dozen people!
I agree with mandatory re- testing once drivers hit 70 years of age. Even if they appear sharp, they may well decline very rapidly at any point after the most recent test.
They should be banned from driving in the left lane because they go too slow!
This is a normal mistake that happens everyday to plenty of people in they’re 30’s and 40’s.
You don’t hear about it cause it doesn’t make the news!
to #9 amen .. I dont know and cant say i would have passed. But i can say you have made the most intelligent and useful comment i have read at VIN on any topic.