What to Know
- An elderly driver crashed into a home at a Long Island complex when he accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, witnesses say
- The couple living inside the home was in another room at the time and weren't hurt; no other serious injuries were reported
- Neighbors say there have been several instances of elderly drivers accidentally driving cars into apartments at the senior housing complex
A couple living in a senior housing complex on Long Island had a close call when a car driven by their upstairs neighbor came barreling into their living room, ending up all the way inside the home.
It happened at a co-op in Woodbury Tuesday afternoon; a man in his 80s was trying to park his Mercedes when he crashed into the first-floor apartment, witnesses said.
Don Epstein, a board member of Woodbury Gardens, told News 4, "I guess the gentleman who lives in the apartment above was going to park his car, and instead of hitting the brake, he hit gas."
Neighbors said the car had narrowly missed the woman living in the unit after she left the living room.
"She just went and got up to check on her laundry, and that's where it happened," said a neighbor named Mary. "He would've gone right over her."
Firefighters removed the damaged pillars and the car from the building. While residents were grateful the accident wasn't worse, one resident said there have been multiple cases of elderly drivers slamming into homes in that complex.
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"This is the fifth accident," said the neighbor named Mary. "We had two on the other side, we have one right down here."
A restoration company will inspect the damage to make sure it's safe for the couple to return to their home.
