That's a fail: Teen on driving test crashes through examination station in Buffalo

The teen driver was getting set to take her behind-the-wheel test.

March 23, 2018 at 2:51AM
A look at the damage after a teen driver's road test went bad.
A look at the damage after a teen driver's road test went bad. (Buffalo Police/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A teenage driver's attempt to get her license didn't go so well. In fact, her behind-the-wheel test on Wednesday in Buffalo, Minn., failed at the start as she crashed into the driver's examination station before she even got on the road.

The 17-year-old from Monticello inadvertently put the 2014 Chevy Equinox into drive instead of reverse as the test began about 2 p.m., bringing the test to a halt.

When she stepped on the accelerator, the vehicle lurched forward, jumped the curb and plowed through the front of the station in a strip mall on 1st Avenue S., said Buffalo Police Chief Pat Budke.

She was not hurt, but her vehicle suffered significant damage, the chief said.

The examiner, a 60-year-old woman from Buffalo, was taken to a local hospital with noncritical injuries.

No one inside the office was hurt, Budke said.

No charges will be filed, Budke said.

about the writer

about the writer

Tim Harlow

Reporter

Tim Harlow covers traffic and transportation issues in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and likes to get out of the office, even during rush hour. He also covers the suburbs in northern Hennepin and all of Anoka counties, plus breaking news and weather. 

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