ORILLIA — When emergency services personnel arrived at the Orillia Giant Tiger Tuesday, they came upon a scene of chaos and confusion.
A car had jumped a curb, crashed into the store’s garden centre and struck a number of pedestrians.
Orillia firefighters joined with County of Simcoe paramedics and Orillia OPP officers in quickly tending to the injured.
While there were multiple people in need of attention, the focus was on a woman pinned beneath the black Toyota Corolla.
“All we could see were her feet and at that point, we assumed the worst,” said Orillia Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Kirk.
Kirk said firefighters were able to “make patient contact” and then got to work freeing her.
Working with paramedics and police, they quickly developed a game plan.
They used high-pressure air bags to slowly lift the car which came to a stop against the front of the store adjacent to the main entrance.
As the car was being raised, they carefully and strategically situated wooden cribs (similar to jacks) and steel stabilizers to ensure the vehicle was stable throughout the operation.
Once the car was elevated, firefighters were able to free the woman and, with paramedics’ help, put her on a backboard, before rushing her to hospital.
“The whole operation took no more than 10 minutes,” estimated Kirk, who gave kudos to the other emergency services for pitching in to help ensure everything went smoothly.
A third victim who was struck by the car ended up beneath a Brinks truck that was idling by the curb. She, too, suffered minor injuries.
“Another couple of employees were hit by flying debris,” said Kirk. “It was a pretty messy situation.”
If not for a little luck, in addition to the co-ordinated fast response, it “could have been much worse,” said Kirk.
“That’s why we do the training we do ... to ensure we’re at the top of our game in situations like that,” said Kirk.
“It was great effort by all three services and, fortunately, it appears there were no serious injuries.”
Orillia OPP Const. Ted Donglemans said it appears the elderly driver of the car was entering the parking lot when she inadvertently hit the accelerator instead of the brake.
“The speed, as per witnesses, was between 30 to 35 kilometres an hour,” said Dongelmans.
He said the vehicle first struck a woman in her late 60s who was on the sidewalk in front of the store.
“She fell to the ground … and ended up with some abrasions on her head, but, fortunately, relatively minor injuries,” Dongelmans said.
The second woman who was struck, who ended up being pinned under the car, was in her late 40s.
“Quite unexpectedly, it appears she, too, ended up with relatively minor injuries,” said Dongelmans, who noted the woman had “bumps and bruises” and an arm injury.
Dongelmans applauded the “quick and efficient” response by emergency services personnel for being able to free the woman and help minimize the injuries.
Both women were taken by ambulance to Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital.
The elderly driver and her two elderly passengers were shaken up, but not injured. They did not require hospitalization.
Dongelmans said no charges have been laid and it’s not likely that charges will be laid. However, he said the incident remains under investigation.
He said in cases like this, where charges aren’t laid, police can suggest to the Ministry of Transportation “to conduct a driver’s licence review” on the driver.
“I don’t know if it’s been suggested in this case, but we do have the ability to do that,” said Dongelmans.
Giant Tiger, located at the corner of Front Street and Atherley Road, remained open yesterday.
Fortunately, there was no damage to the store's structure, although the garden centre was left in disarray.
The incident left staff shaken.
“You could hear the crash inside the store," said associate Ryleigh Schell, who was working in the men's wear section when the crash occurred. "I thought maybe it was the plant racks falling over. It was very scary."
