2 Injured When Teen Mistakes Gas Pedal For Brakes, Plows Into Farm Stand: Montgomery Cops

MONTGOMERY, NJ — Two people were injured and a farm stand is closed after a 16-year-old permit driver mistook the gas pedal for the brakes on Sunday, said Montgomery Police.

On Sept. 4 at 3:40 p.m., Montgomery Police, Montgomery EMS, and Montgomery Fire went to Cherry Valley Farm at 619 Cherry Valley Road for a crash into a building.

An investigation found that a 16-year-old male permit driver from Rocky Hill was driving a 2017 Honda Ridgeline with his father.

"The driver mistook the gas pedal for the brake pedal after shifting gears to drive. This resulted in the Ridgeline accelerating forward, driving into the farm stand, and impacting the checkout counter, and damaging a portion of the structure," said police.

As a result, two employees were injured. A 31-year-old woman had a complaint of back pain, and a 32-year-old man had a bleeding injury to his arm. EMS attended to the injuries, and both refused further treatment.

The driver and his passenger were not injured. The driver was issued a summons for the crash, and is due to appear in Montgomery Township Municipal Court. The Township’s Building Official assessed the damage to the building.

Cherry Valley Farmers Vishal and Mallika sent out a heartbreaking message on Monday announcing the farm and the farm stand will be closed for the "foreseeable future."

"It’s been a hard frickin year due to the amount of deer living inside the fence, the drought and the lack of consistent labor. After yesterday it will simply not be possible to continue," wrote Cherry Valley Farm. "I’ve been working on this project for 7 years giving everything I have to this land and project but it’s time to take a step back."

"No one was seriously injured in this incident but it was real damn close to being real damn bad and I feel the need to take a beat and readdress where my priorities are," continued the farmers.

Cherry Valley Farm is a regenerative CSA farm in Central NJ that strives to educate its community on food production building community, according to the farm's Facebook page.

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