Boy, 1, Killed in Bizarre Crash at Bank

A car driven by a 92-year-old man plowed backward through the windows of a Bank of America building Tuesday, killing a 1-year-old boy and injuring three other people, authorities said.

Capt. Greg Meyer of the Los Angeles Police Department said the elderly motorist left the bank, on the 12600 block of Glenoaks Boulevard, shortly before 11:30 a.m. and got into his silver station wagon, parked in a handicapped spot near the back entrance.

The driver put the car into reverse but lost control and crashed through a set of 10-foot-high windows, striking a group of people sitting on a couch, police said.

Authorities said the man may have confused the accelerator with the brake, but it was not known whether age or infirmity played any role in the crash.

Efforts have been mounted to tighten rules for driver’s licenses for the elderly. On Tuesday, the Assembly passed a watered-down bill that originally would have required annual tests for drivers 90 and older. But the approved bill makes no mention of age.

The boy was identified by the Los Angeles County coroner as Nathaniel Escodero, who was three months away from his second birthday. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills. His 62-year-old grandmother, along with a 70-year-old man and a 56-year-old man, suffered minor injuries and were taken to local hospitals.

About 10 to 15 people were in the bank when the car came roaring through the building, witnesses said.

“The first thing I did was get out of the way,” said Ray Moreno, who was standing in line. “I saw the car coming and it didn’t stop until it hit the back wall. There were people screaming and running. I was in complete shock.”

Miguel Espinoza planned to make a deposit at the bank but heard a loud crash. “I turned around and saw this car in the bank,” he said. “People were yelling for help. It didn’t look good.”

The driver, whose name was not released Tuesday by authorities, appeared confused and disoriented and said he didn’t know what had happened, said Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief Tony Varela. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for a heart condition.

Varela said a crisis team was dispatched to the scene to help bank employees deal with the day’s events.

Authorities continued to investigate the cause of the accident. Meyer said he did not know whether the driver would face criminal charges.

According to statistics issued by the state Department of Motor Vehicles, drivers 85 and older are more than 2.2 times more likely to cause a fatal accident than a driver of average age, said DMV spokesman Evan Nossoff.

The statistics are even more dramatic when adjusted for a driver’s yearly mileage. The 85-plus group drives an average of 2,800 miles a year, while the average in California is 11,300, Nossoff said.

“When you figure in the mileage, the 85-plus drivers are 10 times more likely to be at fault in a fatal” accident, he said.

The new driver safety bill, which originally was aimed at seniors, now allows the DMV to require increased testing only when notified by a physician, police officer or family member of a driver’s possible physical impairment.

As written last year by state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles), the bill then known as the Senior Drivers Bill would have required drivers 75 and older to take more frequent driving tests. Annual testing would have been required for drivers 90 and older.

Hayden wrote it, according to his chief of staff, Rocky Rushing, after a 10-year-old girl was struck in Santa Monica by a 96-year-old driver with a history of strokes.

The original bill passed the state Senate, but stalled in the Assembly because of objections from senior groups, headed by the AARP (formerly the American Assn. of Retired Persons).

“We asked for age neutrality,” said Pat Luby, AARP’s legislative representative in Sacramento. “Physical conditions, some of which are associated with the aging process, can be a factor in driving. But we also know that we have 75-year-old drivers who are much safer than 40-year-olds.”

AARP approved an amendment to the bill that eliminated all age references and allowed the DMV on its own to require testing of specific drivers of any age. It left open the opportunity for the DMV to target senior drivers for testing, but an advisory committee with members from senior organizations would have been established to advise the DMV on its choices.

That language also was stricken from the final bill, after objections by Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Northridge), vice chairman of the transportation committee. He did not want the DMV to make the decision on which drivers should undergo testing.

“I objected to judging people not on their own merits but simply because they belonged to a certain group,” McClintock said Tuesday after the vote. “I objected to the DMV singling out people just because of their age.”