Laguna Hills : Car Slips Out of Control, Slams Into Bank Lobby

Ruth Kellogg, 72, didn’t mean to make a grand entrance when she drove from her Leisure World home to the Laguna Hills branch of California Federal Savings to do her banking Monday afternoon.

But when she hit the accelerator instead of the brake pedal as she parked her Oldsmobile Delta 88 and zoomed through a plate glass window in the building’s lobby at 3:05 p.m., bank employees couldn’t help but notice.

“I was working in new accounts at the time,” said savings counselor Beth Hudak, “and she drove right by me.”

No one was injured, said branch manager Jack Clark, and damage to the building is estimated at “a couple thousand dollars.” Insurance should cover the repair costs, he said, and no charges will be filed against Kellogg.

“The car was completely inside the lobby,” Clark said. “It brought a window frame with it, moved a couch ahead of it 20 feet into the lobby, turned over our customer counter that was in the middle of the lobby, brought a flagpole from outside inside and came directly within five feet of a teller counter.

“We do have a drive-through window, but it was on the other side of the building,” Clark said. “Now we have two.”

California Highway Patrol Officer Laura Hairston backed the vehicle out of the El Toro Road bank and drove Kellogg home. “She was shaken up, but she’s fine,” Hairston said.

Although extra security is planned until the bank can be boarded up, few employees were shaken, and most took the incident lightly. “Today we’re pushing auto loans and home improvement loans,” Hudak joked.