Last week social media was abuzz over photos and videos posted that showed an SUV on the second floor of a Massachusetts mall.
The video had a lot of people asking how it could happen, and now the woman who was driving is answering that question.
Susan Gauthier, 78, of Quincy said she was just trying to run an errand to the Apple store at South Shore Plaza in Braintree when it happened last week. A few wrong turns in the parking garage led her to drive a lot closer to the store than is allowed.
"I did something stupid. I should've gone left and I went straight up. Then I started going left and I said, 'Where am I going?'" Gauthier said.
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She managed to drive 60 yards down the main corridor of the mall in her Lincoln SUV.
"There were ramps on the ground and I was running over those and the girl kept saying stop. That’s when the ambulance came and all that other crap," Gauthier said.
Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, but Gauthier did spend a few hours at a nearby hospital being checked out. Police said at the time of her accident, one of the safety posts that usually blocks the mall entrance was missing and scheduled to be replaced. There is now a big barrier in front of it.
"It was my own fault," Gauthier said.
She eventually got the Apple products she needed, but not at the mall. Her sister drove her to a Walmart instead. Gauthier said she will not be getting behind the wheel anytime soon.
"I’m just not going to renew my license for a while," Gauthier said.
She does want to thank all of the police and first-responders who showed up last week. She knows it could have been a lot worse and she is grateful no one was hurt by her mistake.
