A driver lost control and drove right into a living room of an El Cajon apartment Wednesday night, injuring two people including a grandmother.
One witness described hearing screeching tires and an explosion. When she walked outside she heard 10 or 15 people “screaming bloody murder.”
“The owners of the unit had come out, were throwing themselves on the ground, were upset, tearing their hair out,” said neighbor Tammy Reed. “We found out the car had pinned the grandmother.”
Soon after the accident happened, more than 100 people gathered near the unit on South Mollison Drive. When police arrived, they had to physically remove some people who had approached the driver of the car screaming. One man was even placed in cuffs for short time before being released.
When the Honda Accord crashed into the home, it was just after 9 p.m. Two people were sitting in the living room on couches. Both were thrown. One of them, described as the grandmother of the family by witnesses, was sitting up on a stretcher when she was transported to the hospital.
It appears the driver, a young woman who some witnesses say had just received her drivers license, was in the apartment complex to visit friends when she lost control of her car.
Early interviews suggest the driver may have hit the gas instead of the brake, according to Lt. Ron Smithson.
Patients in the car and in the apartment were treated but had minor or no injuries, Smithson said.
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However, before police had arrived, the scene was tense. Relatives of the victims were outraged and some even rushed up to the driver screaming at her, according to Reed.
For now, the apartment is not livable. The building inspector will look at the apartment. The occupants of the apartment will have to find another place to live for a while.
