A boy, 13, intending to back an SUV out of the driveway, puts it in drive and pins his mother against a wall.
By SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
Published October 28, 2004
TAMPA - A 13-year-old boy learned the consequences of "driving while young" Wednesday when he accidentally crashed through the family garage, pinning his mother against the laundry room wall.
The mother, Alycia Rink, 35, suffered multiple injuries, but none life-threatening, said Hillsborough County Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Rod Reder.
To free her, fire rescue workers had to cut through kitchen cabinets and remove the stove in the family's home on Morden Blush Drive, in the Villa Rosa subdivision off Lutz-Lake Fern Road in northern Hillsborough County.
Rink was airlifted to St. Joseph's Hospital, where she was being evaluated Wednesday night in the emergency room.
Reder said Rink had given permission to her son to back their 1999 Ford Expedition out of the driveway so he could play basketball.
Instead of backing up the Expedition, the boy put the vehicle in drive and plowed forward through the open garage, crashing through a wall into the adjoining laundry room. Along the way, the Expedition crunched the washer and dryer before pinning Rink against the wall and causing an estimated $70,000 in damage.
Reder said the case showed why minors should not be behind the wheel. "A bad decision was made tonight."
The boy's father, a local law enforcement officer, does not live at the house. Authorities did not release the boy's name because of his relationship to an officer.
Hours after the 6 p.m. accident, children on bicycles and adults with their dogs walked through the broad boulevards and sidewalks of the upscale subdivision, gawking at the scene as a wrecker yanked the SUV out of the garage, where it was snugly jammed into an interior wall.
Reder said the incident is still under investigation, and no charges have been filed yet. Nearby neighbor Maureen Greif, 45, waited to hear on the news that the mother was okay before she brought her two daughters to the scene. Samantha, 12, said she attends Martinez Middle School with the boy.
Greif's other daughter, 4-year-old Danielle, was the real reason for the trio's visit. Greif wanted to teach her a lesson. Danielle likes to scamper inside their car and slide behind the wheel as if she's driving
The little girl looked on wide-eyed. "Is the mother still alive?" she asked.
Greif reassured her child that the mother was all right, and she knew the point of the walk had been made.
"I don't have to worry about her playing in my car any more," she said.
