Woman backs over, kills best friend in garage( Another elderly Florida Gasser strikes again )

St Pete Times ^ | 11/24/2005 | CURTIS KRUEGER

[devane617]

PINELLAS PARK - Margaret Beyer and Bette Broadbent were best friends for years and spent recent weeks sprucing up Beyer's house.

But on Wednesday, as the two were delivering a load of mulch to her house, Beyer hit the accelerator too hard and backed her Toyota station wagon through the garage and into her kitchen, killing Broadbent, 67.

"It's a tragic event," said Pinellas Park police Capt. Michael Haworth.

Beyer, 77, "is pretty shook up," said her sister Kittie Betterton. "That was her best friend."

"I just feel chills," said neighbor Crystal Watson, 28, who rushed over from her house to help. "This is the day before Thanksgiving."

Neighbors said Beyer and Broadbent had been working together on cleanup projects at Beyer's home, 3808 90th Terrace N. Beyer was in the yard so much that neighbor Joe Dougherty teased her about how much she liked to play in the dirt.

On Wednesday morning Beyer was backing her Toyota into the driveway, and Broadbent was standing behind to guide her. That's when Beyer mistakenly accelerated, police said.

Traffic homicide investigator Michael Piacenza said Beyer said it was an accident. She was taking heart medication at the time, but nothing narcotic, he said. He said there was nothing to indicate she was driving recklessly. Therefore, no charges are pending.

"My sister doesn't know what happened," Betterton said Wednesday morning, adding "she's not in a fog, she's perfectly coherent."

Beyer could not be reached for comment.

After the accident, Watson said, "I heard the crash and immediately ran over there."

She saw Beyer's Toyota smashed through a wall and into the house. Debris covered the Toyota. Not realizing another woman was present, Watson first focused on Beyer and tried to calm her down.

Beyer seemed to be in shock, Watson said. "She just kept saying she's never done that in her life," Watson said.

Then Watson saw Broadbent, partly covered in debris. She immediately tried to help. "I didn't feel a pulse. She was not breathing." So Watson ran back to her house a few doors down, called 911, and returned. Broadbent was taken to Northside Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Dougherty said he feels for his neighbor, Beyer. "It's absolutely a shame. She's a wonderful person."

[Zack Nguyen]

This could not have more closely resembled the "Titanic" if Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet were necking in the back seat while the orchestra played "Nearer My God to Thee" on the hood.

LOL. Sounds like a real story there!