The Signal provided a short front page report this morning on an incident in the Target parking lot that occurred on Christmas Eve Eve (12-23). This post will provide a more detailed report from one of the victims, my Nebraska Bride Nancy, whose car was struck by the alleged drunk driver.
Apocryphal Valencia pride tales assert that that the Target store at McBean and Magic Mountain Parkway boasts the highest sales per square foot of any Store in the system. True or false, on this Christmas Eve Eve Target was Soylent Green crowded and my Bride had dropped in to return a gift and obtain a refill of a Starbucks black ice tea.
Literally while in line for the tea Nancy heard people discussing a spectacular accident in the parking lot. She was astounded because she had just stepped in from the parking lot and had seen nothing but walked outside to see carnage. Here is what eye witnesses (who were generous with their time and contact information for future legal action) recounted.
The alleged perpetrator, parked in the handicapped parking in an older maroon Mercedes, first backed into one car, and then repositioned her car to drive “through” the handicapped parking spaces, backing into Nancy’s vehicle so hard that she drove it into the car next to her (remarkably undamaged) until her gears ground. She then drove through the crowded crosswalk with pedestrians frantically pushing others to safety. She barely missed a pickup truck driven by an off duty Highway Patrolman but struck a Honda with a mother and daughter. The Patrolman then jumped from his truck and removed the keys from the Mercedes.
Reports indicate the alleged perpetrator had a half empty vodka bottle in the passenger compartment which she claimed to not have drunk from for four hours. Nancy, who has endured her second crash in the last twelve months (this summer a distracted but sober driver crashed into her car stopped at a red light in the turning lane at Orchard Village and Wiley Canyon) attempted to approach the lady. Sheriff’s deputies dissuaded her from “talking” to the alleged perpetrator.
This occurred at three in the afternoon, and it is difficult to imagine what would motivate a person to drink half a bottle of vodka before 11 in the morning and then decide to go to a crowded retail establishment. Luckily, it appears that only property was seriously damaged but many pedestrians were put at risk.
This counts as a beautiful purpose of this blog, since it provides the opportunity for more detail and nuance, and followup regarding the actual identity of the alleged perpetrator as we pursue legal recourse for the repair of Nancy’s vehicle.
Comments (21)