A car broke through part of the safety cables in Parking Structure 5 (1440 4th Street) Monday morning and was suspended over 4th Street for about an hour while firefighters worked to secure the vehicle.
Lieutenant Saul Rodriguez of the Santa Monica Police Depart said the elderly driver inadvertently pressed the accelerator instead of the brakes sending the car over the edge. The driver was helped out of the vehicle by a bystander who witnessed the incident.
Despite the danger, Rodriguez said the driver was doing fine, and not injured in any way.
According to Captain Patrick Nulty, with the Santa Monica Fire Department (SMFD), firefighters received the call at about 10:30 a.m. and responded within 5 minutes 47 seconds. He said members of the Urban Search & Rescue Team found the late model Honda Civic extending out of the parking structure, held in place only by steel barrier cables.
Two tow trucks were requested to help with the vehicle recovery. One used a winch to raise the front end of the car level with the parking structure floor while the other pulled the car horizontally back into the building. Firefighters had to break a window in the car to allow a chain to be passed through for the winch harness.
The car was secured and the scene cleared at about 11:45 a.m.
SMFD said 25 Firefighters responded with assistance from the Santa Monica Police Department and the Pacific Tow Company of Santa Monica.
