DOWNTOWN —A man and his soon-to-be daughter in law were in surgery Friday with serious lower body injuries after they were struck by a car as the driver was pulling into a Downtown parking structure, police said.
The pair, along with three other family members, were waiting for an elevator in Parking Structure 7, located just across the Third Street Promenade at Broadway, when a female driver of a Toyota Camry accelerated past an automated ticket booth and barrier arm and pinned them against a wall, said Lt. Richard Lewis, a spokesman for the Santa Monica Police Department.
The family was visiting Santa Monica from another state. Lewis would not disclose the names of the victims or the driver. The other family members were not injured.
Lewis said the driver was cooperating with police and she passed all field sobriety tests.
"It seems like this will end up being a tragic accident," Lewis said.
Investigators took blood from the driver for testing and are reviewing security camera footage to determine what caused the driver to hit the gas instead of the brake.
The male victim is 67 years old. The female victim was born in 1989, Lewis said.
The parking structure, which is heavily used, was closed from around 12:40 p.m. when the crash was initially reported, and reopened sometime after 4 p.m., Lewis said.
kevinh@www.smdp.com
