Crime & Safety
SUV Plunges Off Parking Garage At OC Hospital, Elderly Driver Injured
An elderly woman was hospitalized Wednesday morning after her SUV dropped off a four-story parking garage in Orange County.
ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A driver was hospitalized Wednesday morning after her SUV dropped off a four-story parking garage at Children's Health of Orange County hospital.
The crash was reported after 8 a.m. at the hospital's main campus, 1201 W. La Veta Avenue in Orange. Video footage at the scene showed the SUV crashed through railing on the top level of the garage before landing upside down on the building below.
The driver was believed to be an elderly woman and rushed to a local trauma center, according to Sgt. Phil McMullin of the Orange Police Department.
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The cause of the crash appears to be "gas and brake confusion" for the driver who careened off the fifth floor onto the third floor, McMullin said.
The driver said she mistook the gas pedal for the brake while backing out of her parking spot and crashed through an iron railing, falling about 15 feet, according to firefighters.
Find out what's happening in Orange Countyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The Orange Police Department was investigating. The motorist was hospitalized with injuries described as not life-threatening.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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