Bad Brake Spoils Her Accident-Free Record in Big Way : Lily’s First Auto Accident in 60 Years Is a Dilly

It was Lily Fowler’s first accident in 60 years of driving, but it was a big one.

Fowler, 80, hit the accelerator instead of the brake Wednesday as she drove up to the car wash at a service station.

The automobile shot into the street, where it struck a passing car, then jolted through a wooden fence and mowed down a gas pump.

Before the situation was brought under control, four cars, including Fowler’s 1980 Ford Thunderbird, were engulfed in flames. Damage was estimated at $300,000.

No one was seriously injured, and Fowler’s son, Fire Department Capt. Robert Fowler, helped put out the fire.