Bizarre accident at Martinsville Kroger sends woman to hospital

WSLS News Staff
Published: February 5, 2008

A bizarre accident in the parking lot at a Martinsville Kroger, sends one woman to the hospital.

Martinsville Police say the accident happened a little before 1:30 p.m., at Liberty Fair Mall.

Officers tell us 66-year-old Carnell Waller was backing her 2003 Pontiac Vibe out of a parking space.  69-year-old Helga Via was pushing her shopping cart across the parking lot, and saw the SUV backing out.  Waller then stopped backing out, then Via motioned to Waller to continue backing up.

Police say Waller then began moving the SUV slowly in reverse, then suddenly sped up.  The SUV hit Via, knocked her to the ground, then ran over Via.  The SUV then sped toward other cars in the parking lot, and hit a red Chevy pick-up, a Pontiac Sunfire, and a Pontiac G6.

EMS crews took Via to Martinsville Memorial Hospital, then a helicopter airlifted Via to North Carolina Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem.  Doctor says via has internal injuries, and is in serious condition.

Police say they have security camera video of the incident, as well as several eyewitness accounts of what happened, and are using then in their investigation.

Investigators estimate property damage from the accident at around $15,000.

Police charged Wall with reckless driving on private property.

Officers are still investigating what caused the accident.