It was unexpected, as these incidents always are. London’s southwest Costco, jammed with Friday afternoon shoppers, suddenly ducking and covering from raining shards of glass as a vehicle backs through the front doors. How it missed the posts that hold the huge panes of glass, how it ended up going backwards into an area full of people, are still under investigation.
A pregnant woman and her two children took the worst of the impact. The six-year-old girl died. The baby was delivered by C-section and the mom and other daughter are still in grave condition. Others were hurt as well and a trauma nurse who happened to be shopping is credited with taking charge of the triage until the ambulances could arrive. Costco employees called on their emergency training (who knew they took emergency training?) and tried to restore calm amid the chaos. One had the presence of mind to reach into the car and turn off the ignition because the unconscious driver could not. Everyone hearing the news jumped to the conclusion that the woman behind the wheel was elderly and may have been done something wrong. But she’s only in her 60s and the “something wrong’ isn’t a fact yet.
It’s so heartbreaking and difficult to comprehend. My boss’ wife was in the north end Costco with her children at the time this occurred. We all think back to how cars zip back and forth in the always-packed parking lot and you just take for granted that they’ll stay where they’re supposed to say. Witnesses say there was a very loud, fast rev followed by the car careening back through the glass. The results are well known and a little girl’s life is mourned. The whys aren’t yet known.
This story has been haunting me since I heard about it.