The Braintree Fire Department said an elderly woman was disoriented behind the wheel. The mall’s automatic doors opened as her car approached, so she entered “very slowly, took a left and parked it in front of a retail store.” Police said the woman made it about 60 meters into the mall. When the police arrived, she had already stopped by herself and was talking to passers-by. The woman met with a mental health clinician and was taken to an area hospital for evaluation. No charges have been laid, but an immediate suspension of the threat license has been requested from the Registry of Motor Vehicles. No one was injured, although firefighters said there were a few “surprised shoppers”. Braintree police said the woman entered the mall through the south parking garage via a footbridge. After a recent accident, one of the safety barriers was missing in front of the entrance, which allowed the woman to pass. The woman’s car sustained minor damage when it overturned several objects. Police said the barrier was already scheduled to be replaced and mall management will now do so “as soon as possible”. Mall employee Stacy Bartko was working when she saw the car pull up in front of her store. “I started hearing people screaming ‘Stop! Stop!” said Bartko. “She looked a bit bewildered. I would say she was confused. Old, confused.” “He was like, what happened? How did he get in here?” added witness Shirley Lopez. Shoppers were huddled and recording the ordeal on their cellphones, and police backed the car out of the mall. “At one point, I heard the security people say, ‘There’s nothing to see here people,’” Bartko said. “Well, there is!” Witnesses said they were surprised to see the car, but glad no one was hurt. “We’re just thankful it wasn’t a weekend or a really busy day. It could have been a lot worse,” Bartko said. Note: This content is strictly local market embargoed. If you share the same market as the partner of this article, you cannot use it on any platform.
