By Robert Frank
www.thesuburban.com
Laval Police investigators say that the Nov. 12 crash that injured three children when an 80-year-old woman drove through the front of the Face à Face daycare on St. Martin West could have been much worse.
“We got lucky,” Const. Franco di Genova told The Suburban. “Big-time lucky.”
“Two of the girls had minor injuries,” Const. di Genova said. “The third girl suffered injuries to her face and head. In a few weeks, she ought to be back to normal.”
He said that evidence investigators have gleaned appears to show that the tragedy was accidental.
“Two detectives met with the driver and confirmed that she was turning into a strip mall,” Const. di Genova said. “They think that she went too far over, turning wide into the lane.”
“The left wheels of her vehicle crossed the grass and cement border, causing the car to move up and down,” he continued. “When she tried to correct her steering, she oversteered right toward the [daycare] building.”
“At that point, she possibly panicked, mistook the brake and gas pedals and drove in a straight line into the daycare.”
Const. di Genova said that scuffs on the sidewalk measured by investigators support this theory.
“Accident investigators also obtained imagery from a surveillance camera not far from there,” he added. “It confirmed that the car did go over the grassy border, turned right, overcorrected and then went straight into the daycare.”
He said that police investigators have arranged to have the woman’s driving ability reassessed.
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