Woman Slams Car Into Outdoor Dining Crowd; 1 Dead, 7 Injured

SAN JOSE, CALIF. (AP) — A person died Monday of their injuries after an elderly woman pressed the gas instead of the brakes in her SUV Sunday, hitting a pedestrian and crashing against an outdoor dining area, authorities said.

The pedestrian died in a hospital Monday, San Jose Police said in a statement.

San Jose Police said seven others were taken to the hospital with injuries described as “major to minor.” Officers initially said the elderly driver may have been in medical distress prior to the collision.

Witnesses said the crash Sunday at a restaurant set up in the parking lot of Grand Century Plaza in East San Jose was quickly followed by people screaming and attempting to help those who were injured.

“The noise when (the 4Runner) went through was like a huge grinding sound because of all the tables and everything caught underneath,” said John Brown, who was manning a political booth nearby and saw the crash, told the Mercury News. “It was so fast a lot of people didn’t react at first. I saw them go in the ambulances. Everyone was very shocked.”

Buck Suggs, 54, of San Jose, who was also working at the booth, said he saw the vehicle parked in the lot directly across from the outdoor-dining area. Suggs said he heard the engine rev and the tires screech, then saw the 4Runner, smoke coming from its tires as it propelled across a two-lane road and a traffic median before crashing into the dining area.

People could be heard screaming “get out of the way” before a loud crashing sound, he said.

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