Driver of Stolen Car in Valley Center Injures 93-year-old in Crash

While trying to escape capture, a man driving a stolen car in Valley Center crashed into another vehicle this morning and injured a 93-year-old, The San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The collision on May 17, 2012, which happened roughly around 4:00 a.m. on Valley Center Road near Paradise Creek Lane, injured a woman also.

A California Highway Patrol unit on the scene ...
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to The Union-Tribune’s story, a sheriff’s deputy saw the 2002 Chevy Cavalier, which had been stolen from Escondido, and began pursuit. The chase lasted only a few minutes and ended when the driver struck a 2010 Toyota Corolla, California Highway Patrol Officer Jim Bettencourt is quoted as saying. A 66-year-old woman was driving the Toyota at the time of the crash. She was not hurt, but a 93-year-old passenger who had been traveling with her had minor injuries. Responders took the elderly victim to the hospital.

The man who had been driving the stolen car ran away, The Union-Tribune reports, but his passenger, a 40-year-old woman, was transported to the hospital where she was examined. She was then taken into custody.

This is not the first time that an accident like this has happened. Several accidents involving older drivers have occurred in recent months.

An older woman was taken to the hospital after she crashed her car into the front of a McDonald’s restaurant. She told police that she hit the gas instead of the brake and accidentally drove through the front of the shop.

In another incident, an elderly woman died as she was traveling down a small suburban side street and she suffered from a medical condition. She crashed through the front yard of her neighbor’s home and was pronounced dead at the scene.

In an effort to prevent these kinds of accidents, California passed a law for anyone that is 70 years or older must retake a driving test if they are involved in more than two accidents in one year. Several other states have proposed making it more difficult for older drivers to get their licenses renewed, but most of these proposals have been blocked by senior-citizen lobbying groups. They argue that a person’s age is not an accurate depiction of their capability as a driver, and that if one age group is required to retake their driver’s tests, than other groups should be required to as well.

If you need the assistance of a San Diego car accident lawyer, call AA-Accident Attorneys. We are a law office dedicated to personal injury law and we can help to win you the compensation that you deserve for your injuries, both emotional and physical. Our car accident lawyer has more than 20 years’ experience handling these kinds of accidents and is well-equipped to fight on your behalf against the negligent parties. We have offices located throughout California in such cities as Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Bakersfield, Riverside, San Jose, Sacramento and San Francisco.

Tagged