SUV hits woman at car wash

Deputies don't yet know what caused the Isuzu Rodeo to accelerate and strike a mother pushing her infant in a stroller.

By SHERRI DAY
Published May 7, 2005

TAMPA - Brenda Lee Brown's Nissan Pathfinder Armada rolled off the line at Town 'N Country Carwash shortly after 3 p.m. Friday and attendants wiped it dry.

She was waiting under the car wash gazebo with her 6-month-old son. Seeing it was ready, she wheeled her son's stroller out, expecting to load up and be on her way.

Just then, an attendant was driving a 2003 Isuzu Rodeo off the car wash's conveyer belt. Suddenly it surged forward, smashing into Brown. Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies said the impact sent her flying onto the Rodeo's hood.

Witnesses say she fell to the ground and the Isuzu barreled across Hillsborough Avenue, but amazingly it did not strike any vehicles or other pedestrians before it could be brought to a stop. Brown's son was unharmed, deputies said.

Brown, 43, of 11617 Renaissance View Court was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, and was reported in critical condition Friday night.

So far, deputies have few answers. They could not say what caused the vehicle to accelerate or how fast it was going when it struck Brown.

Friday afternoon, investigators questioned four witnesses who saw the incident. They also interviewed Densil Blake, 50, who was at the wheel of the car when it struck Brown. Blake has worked at the car wash for more than a year, deputies said.

"According to the manager, he's a very good employee," Cpl. Donald Morris said. "He's clearly distraught over the issue. You have to remember it's a 4,000-pound vehicle striking a human being."

Morris said it was too early to determine whether Blake, of 6202 N Sheldon Road, would face charges.

Tony Muniz, who works at an auto repair shop next door to the car wash, said he and several employees had been watching the showy rims on Brown's car. One minute, Muniz said, he saw Brown standing underneath the gazebo. A few minutes later he heard screaming.

"The baby was crying, and the lady was on the ground not moving," he said.

Mindful of the accident, Muniz showed extra care Friday evening when he released cars from his repair bays.

"It made me want to call my wife and see how she was doing with my son," he said.

After the accident, car wash employees closed the business on what would otherwise have been a busy day. The only vestiges of the accident Friday evening were orange paint left on the pavement by investigators and Brown's spotless white vehicle. It sat underneath a car port. Its wash ticket still hung in the window.

Sherri Day can be reached at

[Last modified May 7, 2005, 01:19:50]