LoudounExtra.com
Woman Plows Into Leesburg DMV Office, Police Say
By Kafia A. Hosh

Originally published at 12:45 p.m., July 17, 2009
Updated at 2:32 p.m., July 17, 2009

Ashburn resident Sandra O'Connell drove to the Department of Motor Vehicles service center in Leesburg today to handle some paperwork on her car's title. But instead of pulling up to the building, she drove into it, police say.

O'Connell's 2008 Honda Civic barreled through double doors and a brick wall that lead into the DMV's stock room. No one, including O'Connell, was injured in the accident, which occurred shortly before 11 a.m.

The incident forced the DMV on Edwards Ferry Road to close for the rest of the day.

O'Connell, 68, has been charged with reckless driving, said Chris Jones, a spokesman with the Leesburg police.

Jones said O'Connell was trying to park her silver sedan near the left side of the building when the accident occurred.


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Car Crashes into Leesburg DMV

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An Ashburn woman crashed her Honda Civic into the side of the DMV service center in Leesburg. (Kafia A. Hosh)


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An Ashburn woman crashed her Honda Civic into the stock room of the DMV in Leesburg. (Kafia A. Hosh)


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Loudoun County firefighters preparing the wood they plan to use to shore up the side of the building the car crashed into. (Kafia A. Hosh)


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The exterior of the Leesbug DMV, where an Ashburn woman crashed her car into on Friday, July 17. (Kafia A. Hosh)

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"She . . . hit the gas instead of the brake and the car just lurched forward into the building," he said.

While the DMV remained closed today its employees were temporarily transferred to the agency's other locations in Sterling and Chantilly, said DMV spokeswoman Melanie Stokes.

She said the agency will reopen tomorrow during its normal business hours from 8 a.m. to noon.

O'Connell appeared shaken after the accident and sat on a nearby curb as the DMV's manager tried to comfort her. She declined to comment.

The front end of her Honda Civic was still lodged in the building at midday as Loudoun firefighters prepared to shore up the structure with wood.

Today's incident was at least the second time that a car crashed into the Leesburg DMV. In March 2008, Nita Sureka drove her Volkswagen Jetta into the side of the building as she tried to park her car during a driving test.

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