Car Plows Into People Waiting for Food Bank Donations

A line of more than 230 people waiting for food bank distributions was sent into chaos Tuesday evening when a car drove through them in El Cajon.

The 42-year-old female driver was leaving the Seventh Day Adventist Church parking lot on Madison Street when she backed her Volkswagen Jetta into a parked car, El Cajon police say. 

She then rapidly accelerated forward and into the waiting crowd.

A 74-year-old woman and a 33-year-old woman were smashed into the wall behind them.

"It's crazy, I just hear the scream of the car, then the scream of people," said one witness, who did not wish to be identified.

The two women were taken to the hospital for serious injuries to their lower bodies. The driver and passenger of the Jetta were transported to the hospital for minor injuries.

A 60-year-old woman was treated at the scene.

Volunteer Elizabeth Barnette said it was an average Tuesday for the church food bank before the crash.

"I rushed over here just to make sure my family was OK because they are all volunteers here," she said.

The driver has not been cited for the accident, but that could change, police say. The road was blocked off for a time while investigators tried to piece together how a program with such good intentions could have an outcome so bad.

According to the San Diego 211 website, a food distribution is held there at the El Cajon Seventh-day Adventist Church every third Tuesday of the month starting at 4 p.m. People can pick up fresh fruit, vegetables, bread and other items.

Volunteers say they had someone in the parking lot directing traffic as they usually do, but now, plans are in the works to change how that is done for next Tuesday.

Despite the chaos and severity of the crash, everyone in line for food did get served.

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