Stuck accelerator sends Supreme Court justice’s car into store

No one injured after Pickering’s Mercedes slams into UPS business

Courtesy Danielle Bergstom

Nevada Supreme Court Justice Kris Pickering’s Mercedes sits inside a UPS Store after a stuck accelerator caused the car to drive through the front windows of the store.

By Mary Manning (contact)

Published Monday, June 22, 2009 | 1:45 p.m.

Updated Monday, June 22, 2009 | 3:17 p.m.

Pickering car accident

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Crash location

An accelerator that stuck on a Mercedes sedan today propelled Nevada Supreme Court Justice Kris Pickering through the front of a UPS store in the western part of the Las Vegas Valley, but no one was injured.

Metro Police did not issue a citation to the justice.

"I am so thankful no one was physically hurt," Pickering said. Her two border collies in the car also escaped injury.

Store owner Dan Halovich said he was standing in the middle of the store at 840 S. Rancho Drive near West Charleston Boulevard before the force of the car's collision sent wood and glass flying at about 9 a.m. Monday.

"This explosion of wood and glass goes by me and nothing touched me. The explosion was so loud, and there was the car," Halovich said.

The air bags inside the Mercedes did not deploy and Pickering was able to climb out of the car, Halovich said. He recognized the Supreme Court justice. "She was a bit shaken," he said.

The Mercedes had minor damage and was towed away.

Pickering went home after the crash, but went to work and continued her normal activities, said Bill Gang, spokesman for the Nevada Supreme Court.

The crash missed clerks and customers alike. The Mercedes did manage to push a copy machine through the wall of a neighboring jewelry store, Halovich said.

"We had a customer just leave the store, go by the front door, then five seconds later you see the car go WHOOOSH," Halovich said.

Halovich called 911 and traffic officers and paramedics responded. Police interviewed the driver and they backed the Mercedes out of the store, he said.

Computers and packages were not damaged in the collision, Halovich said. "I have one copier left, but we can't have customers walk through the store," he said, explaining that workmen were building a temporary wall and a glass company had already measured the gaping hole in the front of the store.

The insurance company and the repair work were going full speed ahead, Halovich said. "At some point tonight I'll be able to go home. It's just been a very exciting morning so far. I'm so glad nobody got hurt."

Discussion: 28 comments so far…

By drillmaker

6/22/09 at 2:22 p.m.

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Don`t you just love Monday`s ?
By mred

6/22/09 at 2:37 p.m.

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Not much on the auto safety government website, or the web in general about Mercedes gas pedals sticking, althought it might have been an after market floor mat problem. Was she wearing her robe at the time?
By CarsonNewshound

6/22/09 at 3:04 p.m.

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I've heard of judicial activism, but this is over the line!
By Babyboomer

6/22/09 at 3:15 p.m.

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OOPS!
By LasVegas2009

6/22/09 at 3:18 p.m.

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Where's the drug and alcohol test? If it was a regular taxpaying citizen Metro would have arrested them already and charged them with driving under the influence. Hell the sheriff might have even went on tv to slander him by now.
By goingbust

6/22/09 at 3:34 p.m.

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German engineering.
By bremskraft

6/22/09 at 3:35 p.m.

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She is a disaster in the courtroom as well.
By bgrebs

6/22/09 at 4 p.m.

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I thought this only happened to octogenarians and teenagers.
By TransAm1986

6/22/09 at 4:05 p.m.

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I blame the dogs. Borders are smart dogs, but not good drivers. Like teenage drivers in Vegas. Next time buy an American car lady.
By just_an_average_joe

6/22/09 at 4:34 p.m.

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"stuck accelerator"?

I thought that could only happen if the accelerator was pushed completely down. and judging from the amount of damage, the accelerator WAS completely pushed down in this case. now u have to ask why anyone pulling into a parking space would push the accelerator down that hard, unless they THOUGHT they were pushing on the brake, and laid hard on the gas instead. this would be consistent with how far the car went and how much damage it caused.

anybody remember the older gentleman in Santa Monica a few years ago who plowed through an outdoors farmer's market and killed and injured so many people? he said he was on the brake the whole time too, but investigation showed no mechanical problems with car, and that he most likely was hard on the gas thinking it was the brake.

I wonder if metro will actually investigate this?
I'm sure they would if it were any regular citizen.

a few years back I was sitting in my car, convertible with the roof open as I waited for my wife to get a couple of groceries. no radio on. an older gentleman got in the car directly next to mine. I heard and saw him start his car. then a few seconds later I heard the engine rev up loudly for a few seconds. THEN i heard and saw him put the car in reverse. the wheels squeeled, the car shot backwards and slammed into 2 parked cars in the next row.

in this case also, the older gentleman, who was OK, immediately started telling anyone and everyone that his "accelerator stuck" and he had his foot on the brake the whole time. I know from what I saw and heard that he accidentally put the gas down, thinking he was depressing the brake, then when he put the car in gear it slammed back into those other cars.
By tvegas

6/22/09 at 4:44 p.m.

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Judges are NEVER in the wrong..especially with cops
By rejco100

6/22/09 at 4:51 p.m.

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Even the Nevada Supreme Court Justice WON'T DRIVE AN AMERICAN CAR!
By DS

6/22/09 at 5:59 p.m.

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LOL @ "stuck accelerator."
By judgesmales

6/22/09 at 6:47 p.m.

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They should try to match up the time of the accident with her cell phone/texting records. Betcha she was on the phone in some fashion and not paying attention when her "accelerator got stuck."
By JFlynn

6/22/09 at 6:53 p.m.

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Shouldn't she have been at work at 9:00 a.m.? This woman lives in our neighborhood, and she is a real shrew. And a blame thrower. I don't believe this whopper, or anything else she says.
By westvegas

6/22/09 at 8:11 p.m.

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Must be nice to be in her postition and get away with a "stuck accelerator". Once needs only to see the headline to know what any good investigator could prove.

Major fail to the Las Vegas Sun. Stuck accelerator? Come on.
By westvegas

6/22/09 at 8:13 p.m.

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She may fool the Las Vegas Sun.

She may fool Metro.

Will she fool the insurance company? She will pay out of pocket and there will be no questions asked. Must be nice.
By mred

6/22/09 at 8:32 p.m.

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Looks like an amg or super gas guzzler model, note the dual pipes, this is bad for the environment.
By larry5

6/22/09 at 9:19 p.m.

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There has never been a documented case of unintended acceleration. Even with Audi's.
By James_P_Reza

6/22/09 at 9:52 p.m.

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"I wonder if metro will actually investigate this?"

"Stuck accelerator" or "unintended acceleration" doesn't matter.

This incident happened on private property. There will be no additional investigation or citation as there were no injuries. Ms. Pickering's insurance company will pay for the damage.

It was an accident, folks. Get over it.
By judgesmales

6/22/09 at 10:27 p.m.

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Hey, Sunshine and Lollipops Reza has shown up to weigh in with his sainted opinion. We've all been ordered to "Get over it," so I guess we have to listen to James "Nothing Bad Ever Happens in Las Vegas" Reza.

Save it, Lollipop. This accident should be investigated, if for no other reason than we wouldn't anyone to get killed if this Mercedes has a manufacturer's problem that caused the accelerator to "stick."
By whats_in_the_box

6/23/09 at 12:04 a.m.

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I smell me some BS. Metro better do its freakin job because this Pickering idiot didn't just drive straight through front of a store because the accelerator was stuck.
By xdockman

6/23/09 at 5:28 a.m.

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Gas sticking and no airbag in a Mercedes with a Supreme Court Justic driving sounds like the car was tampered with.
By reagan21

6/23/09 at 2:14 p.m.

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judgesmales:

You might want to learn the difference between a civil case and a criminal case. The police won't do an investigation to see if a car is defective. The Sup Ct. Justice would have to sue Mercedes in civil court for defective design or manufacturing defect.

Reza was just pointing out the law; the accident happened on private property and there were no injuries. The cops don't have the authority to do any more investigations unless it was to see if the Justice was under the influence to try her in criminal court for a criminal offense.

Reza was correct.
By toonkee

6/23/09 at 3:42 p.m.

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TV news said Pickering was leaving. Why was the car in "drive" and not "reverse"? If the accelerator was stuck she should have went backwards into the parking lot. Sounds like she put the car in drive but thought she was in reverse, hit the gas and made the news.
By judgesmales

6/23/09 at 7:03 p.m.

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Reagan, How do we know it's not a criminal case? Was blood drawn from the Justice? No. Why not? Do we know if she was under the influence of anything? If she was, that makes it a criminal case -- operating under the influence. Metro has the authority -- nay, the imperative -- to find out.

Lollipop Reza wasn't trying to make a legal point. He was just trying to paint his usual sunny picture. He ekes out a meager existence writing everything's-positive articles about Las Vegas for various publications -- at least the ones that haven't gone out of business. That's his M.O.
By judgesmales

6/23/09 at 7:21 p.m.

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Link on Lollipop Reza, who makes his living by shilling that Everything's Great in Las Vegas. In this article, he actually tries to make it sound like there's a legit reason that tourists get "long-hauled" by airport cabbies. That's a practice that's indefensible, but he tries.

http://www.usatoday.com/community/chat/2...

His profile from 2005: James P. Reza is a Las Vegas native who lives, breathes, and writes about all things Las Vegas. He is the editor of the Best Places Las Vegas guide, author of the Berlitz Pocket Guide to Las Vegas, and consultant editor for the Time Out Guide to Las Vegas. His writing has appeared in Conde Nast Traveller, ID, and Rudy Maxa's Traveler. He is also the nightlife columnist for the Las Vegas Mercury.
By JFlynn

6/23/09 at 9:06 p.m.

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There has never been a report of a Mercedes having this problem. This is a common excuse by impaired divers but stuck accelerators have gone the way of running boards. Lame story. From an unbalanced person.
She got a pass because Metro knew who she was. Later stories claimed that although the accident happened a 9:00 a.m. she was on her way to work.
With two dogs in the car?