From now on, when Stephanie Majewski wants to get from point A to B, she’ll be doing it on bus or by foot.
The 81-year-old has failed her driver’s test five times in the past. During the sixth time yesterday, she did not speed through any stop signs or forget to signal before changing lanes. Majewski’s car barely left the parking lot.
Just before 2 p.m. yesterday, while backing out of a handicap parking spot at Thunder Bay’s McIntyre Centre, Majewski ” with her Drive Test examiner in the passenger seat ” went about 25 metres too far and went over a steep embankment into the McIntyre River.
Luckily, her four-door 1991 Ford Tempo wasn’t flooded. Only the back end was submersed in the shallow water.
The driver and tester, neither injured, got out of the car on their own. When police arrived, they were wrapped in blankets.
Majewski paced the scene nervously while her female passenger seemed distraught and was being consoled by police officers and others at the scene.
I’m sorry for her,†Majewski said as she looked in the direction of the tester who was seated in a cruiser with an officer speaking to her while kneeling at her level.
There’s never been a scratch on the car,†she said.
Majewski’s sandaled feet were caked with mud from climbing the embankment.
When asked what went wrong, Majewski shook her head and explained that she was trying to reverse from the parking spot.
It took a tow truck about 15 minutes to pull the car from the river. As the car was raised, a stream of water gushed from the rear window and back doors.
A rainbow-like stream of gasoline and its distinct odour were the only signs of the accident.
Police investigation continues.