Elderly woman hits 13 with car

BALBOA ISLAND -- Thirteen people were injured Monday, when an

elderly driver plowed into a crowd as she headed onto the Balboa

Island ferry, police said.

Pandemonium hit the ferry landing just before 1 p.m., when

87-year-old Mary Nash drove her 1997 burgundy Volvo onto a crowded

sidewalk.

Nash, who lives in Newport Beach, lost control of her four-door

sedan as she drove toward the Balboa Island ferry, smashing newspaper

racks and knocking down pedestrians before wedging her car, which has

an automatic transmission, between two sections of the dock.

Nash told police the car lurched when she started the engine to

drive onto the ferry.

“She swerved left onto the sidewalk,” said Randy Scheerer, a

division chief with the Newport Beach Fire Department.

Nash was facing southbound on Agate Avenue to board the Balboa

ferry, which crosses the harbor’s main channel between the island and

the peninsula.

In the moments after the crash, stunned onlookers rushed to help

those who were injured.

Newport Beach resident Matt Dubow dove into Newport Harbor, after

he watched Nash’s car knock a man into the water.

“We were on the ferry and heard a big boom,” Dubow said. “I went

over and pulled a guy out of the water.”

Injuries in the accident ranged from serious to moderate, as the

victims were transported to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana and

Hoag Hospital.

One person suffered a compound fracture to the leg and another

could have sustained internal injuries, said Howard Eisenberg, a

traffic investigator with the Newport Beach Police Department.

Immediately after the accident, police closed the island to any

vehicles hoping to cross the Marine Avenue bridge at Bayside Drive

for about an hour.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, Eisenberg

said, but alcohol and medication were not being considered as a

cause. He said Nash may have hit the wrong pedal in a moment of

confusion.

“The driver accelerated out of control,” Eisenberg said. “The age

issue is not necessarily a factor. She certainly was lucid and aware

of what happened.”

Nash was not arrested or cited.