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Driver in Medical Distress Dies after Causing Two Accidents in University Station Parking Lot
According to Westwood Police, an elderly resident of Canton died within days of causing two separate car accidents on Tuesday, December 17th, that involved a total of seven vehicles in the parking lot of University Station on University Avenue.
Around 5:00 p.m. that Tuesday, the woman was operating her 2015 Subaru Outback in front of the Wegmans grocery store on University Avenue when she struck two parked cars while reversing out of a parking space. One of the struck vehicles was pushed into a third parked vehicle. The incident resulted in minor damage to all vehicles involved, including the Outback.
Just one hour later, police were summoned to a second accident in the same parking lot, when the elderly woman struck three more vehicles, again while exiting a parking space. The investigating Westwood Police Department officer noted in police records that although the woman informed the officer that she felt fine, the officer observed that the woman became unable to answer simple questions. Westwood Fire paramedics was summoned. They transported the woman to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham.
Police cited the woman for failure to use care in starting, stopping, turning, or backing. Police also filed a notice with the Registry of Motor Vehicles of the driver being an "immediate threat," enabling RMV to take immediate action to suspend the driver's license.
Police say that within a day or two following the pair of parking lot accidents, the woman died. Medical information on record indicates that the woman was having heart problems when she was examined by the paramedics in the period immediately following the accidents. Police acknowledge the possibility that those medical issues may have been present earlier and may have contributed to the accidents.
