SUV Crashes Into Store When Driver Mistakes Gas for Brake Pedal

MILWAUKIE -- An SUV left a trail of wreckage inside a Big 5 Sporting Goods Store in Milwaukie after crashing through its concrete wall.

Investigators suspect 83-year-old Peter Day of Oregon City hit the accelerator pedal instead of the brake yesterday as he tried to park in front.

Shopper Linda Shulenberg of Canby was taken to a hospital with pelvic and other injuries when she was struck by a store display, and a man suffered minor injuries after jumping from the Ford Explorer's path.

Day was not injured. He told deputies that he had recently been hospitalized for a neuropathy related condition for approximately four months. It is suspected his medical condition may have contributed to the crash.

Day told deputies that he continued to apply pressure to what he thought was the brake while attempting to park in front of store. However, he was likely applying pressure to the vehicle's accelerator instead -- resulting in the Ford careening through the wall of the store.

According to the on-scene deputy, "The inside of this store looks like a war zone with all the extensive damage and huge hole created in the concrete wall. The intruding vehicle traveled a total of 51 feet, measuring from the point-of-entry to the rear of the vehicle."