Four hurt when car crashes into Costco store entrance - Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor's Information - The Maui News




Four people were injured when a car crashed into the front entrance of the Costco store in Kahului on Sunday afternoon, stopping when it hit the entrance door frame, witnesses and officials said.

"It came kind of fast," said a Wailuku resident who was with his family 3 to 4 feet away in the food court area. "All of a sudden, boom. When the car hit the building, it was still revving. It hit the entrance door and gate and rubbish can."

Police said the crash occurred at 1:50 p.m. when a man driving a silver Mazda RX-8 in the Costco parking lot mistakenly pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake pedal, causing the car to hit numerous items, including a shopping cart that was thrown into pedestrians, near the customer entrance area.

Pedestrians were injured before the car hit the customer entrance of the building, police said.

Three of the four injured pedestrians were transported by ambulance to Maui Memorial Medical Center, where they were treated for injuries that weren't life-threatening, police said.

The driver was cited for inattention to driving and reckless driving, police said. He told police he had been loaned the car and wasn't familiar with its controls.

Police said the crash is still under investigation.

"Our main concern is for our members' well-being," said Jamie Havron, manager of the Costco store. "We have called them several times to check on them. It was just fortunate that it wasn't worse than it was."

The witness, who asked that his name not be used, said he and other family members saw a baby that "flew in the air," though he didn't know how that happened. The infant's stroller was up against the front entrance of the store, the witness said. He said the baby and its parents were taken from the area by ambulance.

He said the entrance door area to Costco was closed for about 15 minutes after the crash; while police investigated, customers were allowed to enter the store through the exit door.

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sunlight silver part out coming soon

 

maybe its just me, but that car looks a tad like TiGrey. probably just the lighting and contrast of the shadows

EDIT: my bad, i had the brightness on my laptop turned down xD

 

As much as I would like to agree and blame this one on the ti's... That car looks all sunlight silver.

 

Wow...

 

Tit Gray is Sunlight Silver in French.
10 to 1 the car was an auto model.

 

Wonder if the owner is on 8club?

 

Never lend out your 8!

"he had been loaned the car and wasn't familiar with its controls."

Or the clutch pedal snapped.

 

That's what I thought immediately, I want the rear bumper and the complete appearance package!

 

the driver couldnt handle the insane torque and freaked out. maybe it had an isuzu v6 swap in it

 

With bearings put in backwards. That's good for 50 HP.

 

I like the people eating their lunch on the picnic table like this is an everyday event....

 

This is such bs, it's not even funny.
The brake pedal and the throttle pedal have been in the same exact positions on every single mass produced car since, what, the 20's?
How are you not familiar with a car's controls, no matter what car you're driving?

BC.

 

unless its someone who's never driven a car before.
but I agree with you. pretty stupid.

 

At first he saw the rotary symbol and was like



Then started thinking like so




And upon approaching the store entrance realized....




Pretty sure that's how it happened anyhow, true story.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudden_unintended_acceleration
apparently its really common. the NHTSA found that the drivers were stepping on the wrong peda

edit: it lists a bunch of toyotas in there, but i swear i've never seen one go over 24mph, i WISH the accelerators would stick down, traffic might go the speed limit.

edit #2: you can see how the prius's 13second 0-60 time might be terrifying...

 

anxiously awaiting a lawsuit of mazda corp. for not having safety devices in place to keep people from stepping on the gas pedal mistakenly.

you will have to navigate 3 flip switches, and 10 multiple choice questions before being allowed to accelerate.

if you haven't now is a good time to watch the movie "Idiocracy"

 

I completely agree with you. Everything has to be "dumbed" down now these days because of complete idiots.
I've always said we are headed towards idiocracy....or wall-e...