Driver, 85, hits 4 cars in parking lot accident

Officers gather at the scene of a parking lot accident involving five vehicles Wednesday at the Florence Medical Center on Nonotuck Street.">

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - An elderly woman who accidentally backed into several parked cars in a medical center lot off Nonotuck Street Wednesday afternoon was taken to the hospital for her injuries, police said.

According to Sgt. David A. Callahan, at 3 p.m., police responded to 190 Nonotuck St., for a report that Margaret Brida, 85, had lost control of her 1994 Plymouth Acclaim and accidentally caused several thousand dollars worth of damage to four unoccupied cars parked in the lot of Florence medical offices.

"She was backing out of her parking space and accelerated too quickly while she was backing up, which caused her car to swing around and hit all of the parked cars," Callahan said.

Brida was transported by ambulance to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield with minor injuries, where a hospital spokeswoman said she had been treated and released Wednesday night.

No citations were issued as a result of the accident, Callahan said.

Owen Boss can be reached at oboss@gazettenet.com