Gran killed by own runaway car
2004-06-24 22:25
Cindy Preller
Uitenhage - A grandmother died here in a freak accident when she was run over by her own vehicle in the parking lot of the provincial hospital.
On Wednesday morning, 84-year-old Diana Hurn was on her way back from the hospital where she had picked up her medicine, when her automatic car shot forwards, apparently of its own volition, the moment she turned the ignition.
Her car door was still open, and she fell out of the vehicle when it hit a sidewalk.
The car's wheels hit against the pavement after the crash, and she was run over by the car.
It then hit into the hospital wall in front of the casualty ward.
Michelle Kleinhans of the police said: "She started the car, and witnesses say she didn't close the door.
"At this stage, we're still unclear as to what exactly happened. Her foot could have got stuck on the accelerator pedal."
Hurn's son, Clyde, 64, said on Wednesday he thought the accelerator pedal was broken.
"The nurse who saw the accident, said the car turned back after she fell out and drove over my mom at speed before it crashed into the wall," he said.
- Die Burger