Being slight of stature may have saved a 78-year-old woman from serious injuries when she was knocked down and partially run over by a car in the driveway of her Union Bridge home Friday morning.
Helen Cottrell, of the 600 block of Union Bridge Road, was taken to Frederick Memorial Hospital, where she was in fair condition Friday. She was held for observation, a hospital spokesman said.
Deputy Sheriff Brad K. Brown, who investigated the accident, said, "Mrs. Cottrell was standing in the driveway and turned to look across the street at a neighbor as her husband, Clark Cottrell, 76, started to back their car out of the garage."
"Mrs. Cottrell told me she usually stands on the side of thedriveway because the garage is too narrow for her to enter the car. But this time she hesitated in the driveway and was hit by the automobile and knocked down as the car continued to move with her between the wheels," Deputy Brown said.
When Mr. Cottrell did not see his wife standing beside the driveway he immediately stopped the car and found her underneath it.
Deputy Brown assisted the crew of the Union Bridge fire station in removing the woman from under the rear axle of the vehicle. The wheels had not touched Mrs. Cottrell, he said.
Both Deputy Brown and Union Bridge Fire Chief Dave Nelson, who was at the scene, said the victim had no visible signs of injury and was taken to the hospital for examination as a precaution.
L No charges were placed against the driver, the officer said.