Car meets tree

By Jill Aho

Eyewitnesses in the Child Development Center said the accident that occurred at about 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon next to parking lot L was caused by erratic driving.

Norma Weathersbee, who drives a bus for the CDC, said the driver was “doing cookies” in the lot prior to losing control and careening into and uprooting a tree. Witnesses said a friend who was watching pulled the driver from the car and the two took off in another vehicle.

Tow truck drivers for Loop Highway, Jim and Steve Millne, said they estimated the speed of the vehicle as “at least 50 miles per hour.” Steve Millne said the accident was like “a highway accident in a parking lot.” They said the vehicle was upside down when they arrived, and guessed the tree the vehicle hit was what prevented the car from rolling down a steep embankment. Steve Millne added the vehicle “didn’t fully stop until the tree hit the motor and transmission.”

Public Safety said Thursday they refered the matter to the Gresham Police Department, but the Gresham Police said Thursday they had no record of the incident.