Motorist in freak crash at mall

A motorist crashed into a store in the parking lot of BurJuman Centre yesterday. The woman was reversing her car when she slammed into the Xerox store, shattering the windows and breaking the wall, but no one was injured.

Gulf News was at the scene of the accident and talked to the driver, a UAE national, who was driving a rented Honda. "I'm still shocked at how the accident happened," said the driver.

According to the police, the woman had just received her driving licence a week ago. The woman's friend, a qualified driver, was with her when the incident occurred.

"I'm driving around with her to help her get accustomed to the roads," said the friend. "We were coming out of the parking lot and I had reversed the vehicle for her. So when she took over the wheel, instead of putting the gear on drive, she put it in reverse and hit the accelerator."

The driver said she was still confused at how the accident happened.

"I thought that I had the car in drive when I hit the accelerator," she said, shaking her head.

Evelyn Bautista from Xerox was standing at a stall near the windows when the car crashed into the store. "I heard a crash and the glass shattered. I was also hit by a small stone," she said.

"It's a good thing that there weren't any customers in the shop or that nobody was next to the window at that time."