WATERVILLE — One person required hospital treatment Tuesday after the driver of a car waiting for an oil change accidentally drove into a pillar separating two garage bays Tuesday morning at a car repair shop, witnesses said.
The accident at Prompto Oil Change, at 118 Kennedy Memorial Drive, happened shortly after 10:30 a.m. Tuesday when Cheryl Collins, 64, driving a black Oldsmobile Alero accidentally accelerated when her foot slipped off the brake, according to Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey, of the Waterville police. The car cascaded through the garage, hitting a green Ford F150 truck and a Subaru Legacy before crashing into a support beam separating the two bays.
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Jesse McGahuey, 38, of Pittsfield, who was in the bay beneath the Ford truck suffered a head injury and was transported to Inland Hospital. McGahuey was treated and released Tuesday afternoon.
“I didn’t see the car, so she must have just pulled up behind us, and the only thing I can think of is she must have hit the gas instead of the brake,” Shuckrow said. “She pushed us halfway out the door, and I saw her car squirt out through the door.”
The Oldsmobile was damaged heavily and was leaking fluids after it came to a stop outside the garage. A pillar separating two of the service stations also was damaged severely during the incident, and Shuckrow’s Ford sustained body damage after getting pushed into the pillar.
George Spencer, manager of the oil change shop, said the store won’t reopen until the building can be inspected for its structural integrity.
“We can’t work, not until a structural engineer clears us to work in the building,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and it’s the first time it has happened at my location.”
Police are considering the Oldsmobile totaled, and the same determination may be made about the Ford, according to Rumsey. The Subaru also was damaged.
Rumsey said the incident is considered an accident and no charges are pending.
Jesse Scardina — 861-9239
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