Elderly Woman Crashes Car into 7-Eleven and Injures 2

WEST BABYLON, NY- Patch.com writes that an 87-year-old woman drove into a 7-Eleven on Wednesday, October 31,2018, injuring 2 men. The crash took place at about 3:15 in the afternoon at 915 Straight Path. The woman was driving a 2006 Hyundai Sonata and went through the front of the shop.*eleven

The car struck a customer and an employee who were in the shop at the time of the crash. The victims were both taken to the Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center for treatment of injuries that are not considered life-threatening.

Crashes into buildings take place more frequently than many people realize. Every day in the United States, about 60 cars crash into buildings. These collisions lead to around 4,000 injuries every year and 500 fatalities.

The largest percentage of these crashes are caused by pedal errors. This means that the driver pressed the gas pedal when he or she intended to hit the brakes. Other driver errors, such as a driver believing they are in reverse when they are really in drive, are another common reason for car into building collisions. Alcohol or drugs are a factor in around 15 percent of these crashes.

Elderly drivers are involved in more of these accidents than any other age group, followed by young drivers.

According to the co-founder of Storefront Safety Council, Rob Reiter, there are steps that can be taken to prevent these types of crashes. One thing that the group advocates for is to stop putting forward facing parking spots in front of stores. Another improvement that has been suggested is placing barriers in front of stores to prevent vehicles from driving through the front of a building.