100 year old driver hits 11 people near LA school

100 year old driver hits 11 people near LA school

A Los Angeles City firefighter assists a child, one of eight people injured when a car sped onto a sidewalk and into a group of parents and children outside Main Street Elementary school, (photo: J. Emilio Flores / AP)

A 100 year old driver hits 11 people near  a South LA school and 9 of the people hit were children.

The bus driver, Preston Carter is being interviewed and according to Yahoo News, he is being cooperative.

Jaime Moore, LA Fire Captain  says four of the children were in critical condition when firefighters arrived, have since been stabilized and are now in serious condition at a hospital. Some of the victims were trapped under the powder blue Cadillac before witnesses helped pull them out.

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The accident occurred just outside of Main Street Elementary School as school was getting out for the day just before 3pm.Of course, many people will assume that Carter’s age is a factor and that he is to blame for the crash however he told KCAL-TV that his brakes failed and that his car was out of control.

The soon to be 101 year old said that he has a valid drivers license and that he was very sorry people were hurt.

My San Antonio reports that, according to police Capt. George Rodriguez,  it appears Carter was pulling out of a parking space, and  instead of backing into the street, he backed onto the sidewalk where the car hit a group of people who were gathered to buy snacks from a street vendor.

Rodriguez went on to say, “I think it was a miscalculation on his part, the gentleman is elderly”

He also said that there is no age limit for having a driver’s license in California. “Obviously he is going to have some impairment on his decision making.”

Upon checking the California DMV website, they have an area for senior drives however the link, (http://www.dmv.ca.gov/about/senior/senior_top.htm is not working) as of this writing.

Screenshot of California DMV showing there is a senior drivers section

Screenshot California DMV website senior drivers section shows no information

In Nevada, for example the DMV website clearly states it guidelines for older driver,

Older Drivers

(from Nevada DMV)

Decisions about a person’s ability to drive should never be based on age alone. Most older people are capable and have a lifetime of valuable driving experiences. However, changes in vision, physical fitness and reflexes may cause safety concerns. Families should help older drivers plan alternative transportation if they must stop driving.

Fortunately there were no fatalities in the when Preston Carter, the 100 year old driver hit 11 people although,a t this time, it appears the accident was the fault of the driver.

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