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myleftone t1_ix97bc1 wrote

No skid marks, and a deliberate turn and curb jump was required. Just sayin’

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HugryHugryHippo t1_ix9kwzk wrote

Remember that story of the elderly woman who kept driving into a mall looking for the Apple Store? She ignored poles, the sliding doors, the narrow walkway of people and store fronts and all the signs you're not supposed to drive your car into a mall?

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hibearmate t1_ix9mx4h wrote

because, in America, without a car you are trapped in your home

so people who should not be driving, keep driving

because there is no other way for them to get around

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GoldHeartedBoy t1_ix9pvmc wrote

Also, the elderly vote so politicians are afraid to pass any sensible laws restricting older drivers.

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stonedseals t1_ixakl33 wrote

No kidding, I was visibly the youngest person at my polling place a few weeks ago.

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thebadpixel t1_ixb98f7 wrote

I’m in my 50’s, and I too was the youngest person at my polling place.

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stonedseals t1_ixb9tb8 wrote

Lol, well there were maybe 15 people that looked under 60, although I did go around 2 or 3 to minimize wait time.

Was kinda nervous that I'd parked too close to the door once I got in there :P

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renwill t1_ix9qior wrote

Was that the incident in Braintree, Massachusetts? ironically, that's super close to this incident in Hingham..

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Sluggish0351 t1_ixa6dxa wrote

Elderly people are a danger in vehicles. Shit, half the people I see driving are.

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Aspergian_Asparagus t1_ixez9dl wrote

I worked a few years at Lowe’s and old people would drive inside the store at least once or twice a month through the garden center doors and (especially) the lumber roll up doorway. A few would just park in the middle of the lumber aisle and start shopping elsewhere in the store.

We really need a better alternative than allowing people that are way too old, mentally unfit, or physically unfit to drive.

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iamdan1 t1_ix9h705 wrote

I wouldn't agree that a deliberate turn was needed. Based on the Streetview of the mall, the driver might have passed the Barnes and Noble, and turned left to go past the Apple Store (since that seems like the flow of traffic in that plaza). Could have been an elderly person that got startled by something, like a pedestrian, and hit the gas instead of the brake and gone straight over the curb in the store, and kept hitting the gas because they were confused. And since the car was described as a large SUV, it probably jumped the curb with no problem.

Obviously we are just guessing, but I would suspect age instead of something malicious.

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stomach t1_ix9mw70 wrote

am i dreaming, or do i feel like a lot of times when it's an older person (confused) as you described, a story often ends with 'the crash does not appear to be intentional at this time'

not sure if this is some version of a canary in a coal mine to communicate this fact before police want to make an official statement or if it's just random and i'm imagining any sort of pattern

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iamdan1 t1_ix9po92 wrote

It is still very hypothetical since we have no idea what happened, but official statements try to stick to actual evidence, and with an older person confusing the pedals, there is no real physical evidence of what happened. So they can only say that it did not appear to be intentional because it was not intentional, and the only person that truly knows was the driver, who might not be fully aware of what they were doing at the time (or the shock of it, and humans incredibly fallible memory make true recollection impossible).

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needabiggerhammer t1_ix9wkg1 wrote

Crashes like this that are not intentional could be mostly involving older people. That would cause your brain to latch on to the pattern. And this type of thing, although usually much less severe, tends to be the trigger for "time to take the keys away" conversations that should have happened long before.

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thewumberlog t1_ixbzx3d wrote

Driver is a 52 YO man.

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iamdan1 t1_ixd88xt wrote

Obviously we still don't know the full story, and I do feel there is more to it, but from another article: ""While driving in the area of Barnes and Noble, Mr. Rein stated his right foot became stuck on the accelerator and his vehicle accelerated," State Trooper Andrew Chiachio wrote in a police report. "Mr. Rein stated he used his left foot to try to brake, but was unable to stop the vehicle and crashed through the front of the Apple store.""

The gas pedal on my car got stuck once (I later figured out why and it was really stupid and 100% not the cars fault), and I immediately reacted by braking, shifting into neutral (automatic transmission) and steering the car off the road. I was just accelerating at a green light, so it all happened under 10 mph, but it was scary.

I think we need to make people re-take periodic driving tests/courses to re-educate older drivers. And yes, 50s is older.

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Bethsoda t1_ixdj5ax wrote

This is so sketchy though - he's not saying the pedal got stuck but that his foot got stuck? And why could he steer to avoid the store - at the very least he could've steered towards a solid wall as it would be more likely to just hurt him and not others.

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autosdafe t1_ix9drag wrote

Let's hope it was an accident and not deliberate.

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andweallenduphere t1_ix9ljbd wrote

Driver is in custody so it is not looking good.

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gnusmas5441 t1_ix9q95s wrote

Drivers are usually taken into custody in cases of vehicular homicide (which could turn out to have an involuntary cause) - for substance testing among other reasons. The driver being detained - on its own - says little about whether the police believe it was deliberate.

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B1Baker OP t1_ix9qqqx wrote

Yes. I definitely suspect this was deliberate. I wasn't sure at first, but now I know it happened on the one year anniversary of that car attack at a parade in Wisconsin. If this isn't a copycat crime, It's a very big coincidence.

According to this article, a criminal investigation is underway as well.

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andweallenduphere t1_ix9so0u wrote

Very interesting.

I wish someone who worked there could tell us if the driver formally worked there (there is speculation)

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MaximusMansteel t1_ix9lwa7 wrote

Could've been drunk.

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andweallenduphere t1_ix9mx0e wrote

Ya no news yet.

I'm awaiting a text from my neighbor who works in a shop near by and I'm getting nervous.

There is speculation that the driver was a former employee but I can't find verification on that so just a rumor at this point.

Ugh.

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autosdafe t1_ix9pdai wrote

Hopefully it's just for involuntary manslaughter

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badibadi t1_ix9ly3v wrote

According to eyewitnesses, he accelerated.

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docmedic t1_ix9ouav wrote

Which could be explained by confusing the gas for the brake.

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badibadi t1_ix9qvw1 wrote

I was just discussing this with my spouse. But we live nearby and we know the specific corner and this particular store extremely well. The thing that makes it sound like it was purposeful, rather than accidental is that the speed you need to make it from the street, across the fairly wide sidewalk (at this particular spot), through the glass wall, all the heavy tables and large, wooden block stools, all the people and into the wall at the other end of the store.....it just can't be explained with the force you'd use on the brake pedal to slow down, going around the bend. You'd have to not only hit the gas hard, you'd have to start accelerating a few yards up the road before hitting the corner. You'd have to floor it. I'm almost certain this was not an accident.

My heart goes out to all the people involved, especially the families of the person who lost their life, the many injured, the store employees (who are almost all regulars for many years) and the store manager, who is a local from my town and whom I know as well. This is absolutely horrifying on every level.

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badibadi t1_ix9zuoz wrote

I should add that they're now saying he was going 50-60mph. An accidental hit of the gas pedal doesn't get a 2019 Toyota 4Runner to 60mph that quickly. Does it? That takes considerable acceleration.

It also so horrifying to see that he went diagonally across the store not the short way, right across as I thought. He ended up in the wall, right by the door that serves as the emergency exit and leads to the back rooms and offices. He pinned several people, including a construction worker who had been working back there and was killed in this incident.

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Zerv14 t1_ixar81d wrote

I believe it was a current gen (2019) 4runner which has a fairly ancient engine and transmission that's been due for a refresh for years. They don't accelerate very quickly by modern standards.

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Clickrack t1_ixcuuym wrote

Like confusing a firearm’s safety for the trigger, should be instant ban for life.

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d01100100 t1_ix9i5n8 wrote

If this was from the parking lot, then you're going past the Talbot's and B&N, then it's just 1 failed left turn to drive straight into the entrance. As long as you avoid the tree and street lamp.

I've seen enough instances of old people confusing the accelerator and the brake in a parking lot and still making it up to 40+ MPH.

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zombienugget t1_ixaax2e wrote

There are bushes in front of the store that are literally untouched

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miltondelug t1_ixb94c2 wrote

Old people went from driving thru farmers markets to Apple stores. They are trying to stay relevant

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Hen-stepper t1_ixdgqsl wrote

He was also going 50-60mph. That means with the small space of that parking lot he had to plan a roadway to accelerate for that long.

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