CHARLES CITY — A 92-year-old pickup driver had a costly encounter with a properly-parked Cadillac in Charles City this week. The Cadillac wasn’t moving, but it came away with the much bigger repair estimate.
According to the Charles City Police Department, the collision occurred at approximately 10:11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 3, in the Floyd County Medical Center parking lot, in the 800 block of 11th Street.
Police said David Swenumson, 92, of Ionia, was pulling a white 2020 Chevrolet Silverado into a parking space when he sideswiped a gray 2018 Cadillac XT5 owned by Cathy McGregor of Charles City.
McGregor wasn’t in the Cadillac, and police said it was properly parked. Whatever went wrong with the maneuver, the parked vehicle wasn’t the one doing the maneuvering.
The repair estimates were not exactly an even split: $200 in damage to the Silverado and $1,500 to the Cadillac. That’s seven and a half times as much damage to the vehicle that was sitting still.
Fortunately, nobody was injured, and police issued no citations. The report did not say who would ultimately pay for the repairs.
There’s a lesson here for drivers of any age: Give yourself room when pulling into a parking space, especially in a full-size pickup. Otherwise, a routine stop can end with a four-figure reminder that a parked car isn’t always easy to miss.