The Claremont Courier had an article about a motorist who lost control of her car at Sunday's Farmers' Market while trying to park in the Wells Fargo parking lot at Indian Hill Blvd. and Second Street.
The vehicle jumped over a low brick wall and struck a fruit vendor's stand, taking out a couple cases of cherries. The driver, a 77-year-old woman, lost control of the car when she stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. The circumstances echoed the Santa Monica Farmers' Market incident from 2003 but without any injuries or fatalities.
The article, by Tony Krickl, indicated that the market organizers were trying to prevent anything like this from happening again:
Organizers of the Farmers’ Market in Claremont said they learned a lesson from the Santa Monica tragedy. After the incident, a decision was made to better secure the street for pedestrians by parking a large truck and a Jeep at either end of Second Street during the market’s operating hours from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
[Farmers' Market manager Rick] Moore said that he had already spoken with police and city staff to come up with more safeguards for pedestrians at the Farmers’ Market. He also planned to meet with Wells Fargo management to discuss how a similar incident could be avoided in the future.
The article also said there had been some similar incidents in the last few years, including one just the night before Sunday's accident when a 75-year-old woman ran a stop sign at Indian Hill Blvd. and Harrison Ave. and drove her Lexus through a fence and bushes and into the side of a chapel. Krickl reported that the Saturday damaged a gas meter and forced the evacuation of some neighboring residents.
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