Baltimore accident gives new meaning to “crash course” in driving

We have seen it before in movies, but very few of us have ever lived it. A crash into a body of water. It evokes internal terror. Would you be able to get out of the car? What do you do? And what happens to your vehicle afterward?

Imagine that a car crash into a Baltimore lake were your very first traffic accident ever. This is now the case for one person in the state, because she is only 14 years old. She doesn’t even have a driver’s permit yet – which is why her aunt is charged with a traffic violation.

According to The Baltimore Sun, a well-meaning aunt took her niece out on Tuesday to give her a driving lesson. Rather than taking the young girl to hazard-free practice area, the aunt chose a location near Lake Montebello.

When you combine a child’s confusion between the gas pedal and the accelerator with a nearby body of water, the scenario just screams disaster. As you can probably guess, the teen confused the two pedals and sped the car into the lake. Fortunately, no one suffered injuries in the crash.

The consequences of the incident, therefore, are limited to legal ones. Sources report that the aunt is charged with knowingly permitting a motor vehicle to be driven on a public road by an unlicensed person. A person can’t even get a permit in Maryland until they are 15 years and nine months old.

For the family involved in this accident, the story will probably be one that is told and laughed about consistently at family functions. Such amusement, however, will cost the aunt more than $400 in fines.

Source

The Baltimore Sun: “Girl, 14, crashes into Lake Montebello while receiving driving lessons in van,” Don Markus, 7 Jun. 2011