Driver mistakenly hits gas pedal, rams into woman at petrol station

TAWAU - A driver who accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake has caused a 52-year old woman to be injured after the vehicle rammed into the victim at a petrol station in Jalan Sin On, here, on Sunday.

In the 9.30am incident, the victim was standing in front of the petrol station's counter. She suffered light injuries.

Tawau district police chief Assistant Commissioner Jasmin Hussin said he received information on the incident involving a Proton Exora driven by a 54-year-old woman and a pedestrian.

"The incident occurred when the driver of the vehicle was said to be on her way back to Kampung Muhibbah and stopped by the petrol station to fill up gas.

"After refueling, she started her vehicle and pressed on the gas pedal thinking it was the brakes and caused the vehicle to speed and crash into the counter wall and the victim who happened to be at the checkout counter there," he said in a statement on Friday.

Jasmin said the driver did not sustain any injuries and that the front bumper of the vehicle was damaged.

"The woman who was hit had suffered a wound on her right leg.

"Investigations found that the driver was not a local and she did not have a drivers license," he said.

Jasmin said the case is still being investigated under Section 43 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

He advised the public to not make speculations on the case to prevent confusion that could potentially disrupt the police's investigation.

A 29-second video of the incident which was captured on the petrol station's closed-circuit television (CCTV) has been circulating on social media.