Raccoon-Induced Crash Knocks Out Two Getty Gas Pumps

A 19-year-old driver hit a tree and a village light post, then took out two pumps at the on Broadway in Sleepy Hollow when two raccoons reportedly crossed her path.

This elaborate sequence also involved a car full of people – luckily all were in good shape following the crash.

According to Sleepy Hollow Police Lieutenant Anthony Bueti, the young female driver going southbound on North Broadway said she swerved around 3:30 a.m. on Monday morning to avoid two raccoons near Pocantico Street. In overcompensating for her turn, she allegedly lost control of the car, said Bueti, at which point she crashed into this series of objects.

The gas pumps have an emergency shut-off mechanism for just this sort of thing. Four passengers were treated and released at , said Bueti, while a fifth passenger refused medical attention on the scene.

The driver was issued two summonses for damage to village property. As far as the destruction of the two gas pumps, that's up to insurance, said Bueti.

The driver has not yet been charged with any traffic violations. Police are currently reviewing the video surveillance tape gathered from the gas station but “it's hard to tell her speed or see much,” Bueti said. Much of the footage is hard to read from the angle they have, and from the glare from the headlights. 

The car appears to be totalled, Bueti said. The Sleepy Hollow PD is still trying to contact the registered owner who is in Ecuador.

Bueti said the driver was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, though her passengers all were.

She was the designated driver, "the responsible one," he said.

Follow Scarsdale Patch on Facebook and Twitter today.