Driver racing to parking spot crashes into store, injuring teen

BELLEVUE – A driver rushing to beat someone else to a parking spot slammed into a department store Friday evening, injuring a 14-year-old girl inside the building, police said.

The girl was being treated at Overlake Hospital for scrapes and bruises, Bellevue police Cpl. Marcia Harnden said, while the driver, a 37-year-old woman from Bellevue, was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence.

“She was just racing to get in and beat the other person to the parking spot,” Harnden said. “She said she stepped on the accelerator and she just couldn’t get herself stopped after that.”

The Lincoln sedan smashed through the automatic sliding glass doors of the T.J. Maxx and took out several clothing racks. It came to a stop 20 yards inside the store.

The driver exhibited “obvious signs of impairment,” but not from alcohol, Harnden said. Toxicology results were not expected for at least a month.