Unusually high number of cars hitting buildings in Lexington raises questions

A witness tells LEX 18 that a driver left the scene after apparently hitting the column of a canopy in the parking lot of the Quality Inn on Newtown Pike. The damage was minimal, but the incident raises questions about the unusually high number of this type of accident Lexington has had lately.

“I don’t think there’s any rhyme or reason,” said Battalion Chief Derek Roberts with Lexington Fire Department. “I think, often times, people think they’re in reverse and they’re in drive, or they think they’re in drive when they’re in reverse,” he said of the potential reason for the accidents.

Chief Roberts said his department doesn’t investigate these accidents, but when his firefighters work one of those scenes, they usually hear the same thing from drivers.

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“Most of the time it’s accidental, they thought they were in a different gear, or hit the gas pedal when they thought it was the brake,” he said.

Thursday’s minor accident is the fourth in Lexington since June 14. One of them displaced a family from its home. And when a business is involved, as was the case with the others, it can create issues for the store owner.

“We don’t want that business to stay closed,” Chief Roberts said, “so we work diligently to make it as safe as possible, and so they can get back in as soon as possible,” he added.

Roberts said drivers just need to be aware of their gear shift knob, especially when near buildings or other vehicles, because being in the wrong gear seems to be a recurring theme when it comes to the likely cause for these accidents.