An elderly California woman accidentally ran over and killed her elderly husband when she hit the accelerator instead of the brake pedal, police say.
California Highway Patrol Officer John Fransen said the woman was being guided into the garage by her husband outside their home in an unincorporated area of Martinez, some 58km northeast of San Francisco, on Wednesday morning (local time) when the accident happened.
The husband was standing in front of the sedan when his wife accidentally pressed the wrong pedal, pinning him underneath the car, Fransen said. She then drove the car through the garage's back wall and into the backyard.
The man was alert as he was transported to a local hospital, but later succumbed to his injuries, Fransen said. Both were in their 80s, he said.
"We're looking at it as an unfortunate set of circumstances, and our heart goes out to her and her family," Fransen said. "But we'll see where the investigation leads."
Drugs and alcohol were not believed to be factors in the incident, Fransen added.
Fransen could not provide the exact ages or names of the individuals, but local broadcaster KGO-TV identified the couple as 84-year-old Yvonne Cottrell and 89-year-old Glen Cottrell.
