Update 5 p.m. Jan. 1: A 65-year-old Corona woman whose car caused a Pechanga Casino golf cart to overturn and injure its passengers said her accelerator pedal became stuck, according to authorities.
Vivian Edwards and her unidentified passenger suffered serious injuries in the crash, which Edwards said was caused by an accelerator pedal sticking on her 2007 black Saturn Aura, according to CHP Officer Nathan Baer.
The crash was reported about 8 p.m. Saturday at the casino’s north parking structure and resulted in 14 people being taken to five area hospitals, Baer said.
Edwards was traveling between 45-50 mph while descending the exit ramp from the third floor of the casino when the Saturn rammed into the back of a 2012 black Hyundai Elantra, according to Baer.
The Saturn then slammed into a concrete pillar and kept going, hitting the golf cart that was carrying seven people and upending it, injuring two passengers seriously and six others moderately, Baer said.
The driver and three passengers of the Hyundai were also taken to hospitals with serious injuries, he said.
Investigators were unable to duplicate the sticking of the accelerator because the car was inoperable, Baer said.
Neither drugs, nor alcohol were determined to be factors in the crash.
No one was arrested and the crash was being investigated by Temecula police.
*City News Service contributed to this report
Original story: A traffic collision that had 14 people transported to area hospitals occurred shortly after 8 p.m. on Dec. 31 near the north parking structure at Pechanga Resort & Casino.
According to Riverside County Fire Department report, 14 people were transported to area hospitals for treatment — two critical, four moderate, eight minor injuries reported.
“We were surprised to hear of the accident and our thoughts are with the injured guests and employee,” said Pechanga Development Corporation President Joaquin Fletcher, in a released statement. “Our Department of Public Safety is keeping in close contact with authorities to monitor their condition and we hope for their quick recovery.”
Fletcher said, “Pechanga goes to great lengths to protect our guests’ and employee safety. We will do a thorough investigation of the incident and take all necessary steps to protect against this ever happening again.”
It is believed the accident occurred when a passenger vehicle struck a parking shuttle. Pechanga Department of Public Safety and Pechanga Fire Department are cooperating with responding agencies.
The California Highway Patrol are the investigating agency. For more information, contact the CHP San Diego Board of Communications at 858-637-3800.
Loading ...
The driver hit my kid’s car first in the parking structure, obliterated their car, sped down the ramp & took out the golf cart full of innocent victims. We thank the Lord our kids are ok but pray the other injured are home recuperating.
she didnt think it was the break??
Elderly people seem to have the darnedest luck with these “stuck accelerators.”
At times like that your head doesn’t work right. In “fight or flight” panic we humans can miss the obvious. It is human nature, pure and simple.
When I was an assistant auto-mechanic I forgot to pump the brakes after changing the pads. I hit reverse with no brake fluid in the cylinders so I just navigated out of the garage without worrying about what was next. I cleared the door and braced to hit the back wall. Luckily the mechanic yelled “turn it off”. If it wasn’t for that yell I would have missed the obvious and crashed a customer’s BMW into a brick wall.
I’ll ignore the implied insults to “elderly people”.
I also neglected to pump up the brakes after changing my own pads one time. When the pedal sank to the floor at the bottom of my driveway, I pulled the emergency brake before I rolled into the street.
Sorry about insulting elderly people. It just seems that when I see or hear these stories about someone going through the the front wall of a business, mowing down people on a sidewalk, etc., it is usually an elderly person and a “stuck accelerator.”