Crime & Safety

Driver, 90, Slams Car into Palisades Parkway Gas Station

Police: NYC man accidentally hit gas pedal, drove into storefront.

A 90-year-old driver accidentally hit the gas pedal on his new car while at a busy Palisades Interstate Parkway gas station and drove into the storefront of the station, according to police.

The driver and his 80-year-old passenger sustained head injuries in the 11:11 a.m. accident Wednesday at the Sunoco stateion on the southbound side of the parkway in Englewood, NJ, but Lt. Michael J. Coppola of the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police said no one in the store was injured.

Coppola said Martin Mermelstein of Sunnyside, Queens, drove his new Honda Civic to the gas station and stopped for fuel. While at the station, Coppola said Mermelstein accidentally stepped on the gas pedal when he meant to step on the brake pedal, causing the car to jump a curb and hit the Sunoco store.

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The crash damaged the front wall of the store and moved the checkout counter out of place. Mermelstein and passenger Lorraine Mermelstein, also of Sunnyside, were taken to Hackensack University Medical Center for treatment. Coppola said neither of them appeared to have serious injuries.

Workers were making repairs to the store soon after the accident.

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The gas station is a busy stopping point for drivers, especially those headed to the nearby George Washington Bridge. For New York drivers from Rockland County, it's a popular spot to stop for get gas at lower prices than at New York gas stations.


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