By Mitchell Clarke
Police say it’s extremely lucky that no one was sitting in the outdoor seating area of a Pakenham hotel when an elderly driver crashed into the building, causing a “considerable” amount of damage.
It’s understood the Pakenham woman, aged in her 70s, was attempting to straighten up her park when she accidentally accelerated towards the Castello’s Pakenham Hotel.
Castello’s assistant manager Ron Tocknell recalled hearing a loud screech and a bang just after 12.30pm on Wednesday 11 March.
“We have a regular customer who sits in the outdoor area everyday but he left about 20 minutes before this happened,” Mr Tocknell said.
“Lucky it’s a weekday, after 3pm it would’ve been different because we have a whole group who sit out there on the round table, so it would’ve wiped them out.
“There’s usually someone wandering out there for a smoke, so it’s lucky no one was there at the time.”
Cardinia highway patrol sergeant Paul Holtzinger said it appeared the car was travelling with some force when it hit the glass panel.
“We’re still trying to work out as to why or how she’s done it… these sorts of things can sometimes be wrong foot on the wrong pedal,” Sgt Holtzinger said.
“We’re very lucky that no one was sitting down, she’s taken out a heap of tables and chairs and if people were sitting there, they would have fairly easily sustained some serious injuries.
“The car has come to rest at the bricks so we’re lucky it hasn’t gone through the bricks and inside the restaurant.”
The woman was checked by paramedics at the scene for shock but thankfully didn’t receive serious injuries.
The investigation into the incident is still in its early stages and police haven’t had a chance to properly interview the driver.
“We’re not sure what sort of penalties we’ll be looking at or whether we’ll be sending her to court,” Sgt Holtzinger added.
“We do go to a few collisions where people do mistake the brake and accelerator and they forget the power of their vehicle. It doesn’t matter what type of car it is, they can all go.
“People need to be reminded, especially when they’re parking cars and they’re near restaurants and buildings where lots of people meet, to be weary of not putting their foot on the accelerator too hard too quickly.”
