Teen Learning To Drive Steps On Wrong Pedal; Car Hits, Kill Grandmother
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A teenage girl learning how to drive accidentally stepped on the gas pedal and struck her 81-year-old grandmother who died over the weekend in San Jose, police said Monday.
The elderly woman has been identified as Antonia Ramirez De Mendez of San Jose, according to the Santa Clara County medical examiner's office.
The collision happened at Chateau La Salle mobile home park at 2681 Monterey Road where officers responded to a major injury collision around 5:30 p.m. Saturday, police said.
An initial investigation showed a 14-year-old girl was behind the wheel for a driving lesson with her father at the mobile home community and collided with her grandmother when she accidentally sped up as they returned to their space, according to police.
The woman, later identified as Ramirez De Mendez, was transported to a hospital for injuries that emergency crews initially believed weren't life-threatening, police said.
On Sunday around 3:30 p.m., however, the woman succumbed to her injuries, according to police.
The death marks the city's 38th traffic-related death on city streets this year, police said.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call police Detective Kelvin Pham at (408) 277-4654. Those who wish to remain anonymous may call Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers at (408) 947-7867.
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