The moment a learner driver mistook the accelerator for the brake and smashed through a boom gate and into the wall of a busy carpark has gone viral online.
The driver was navigating a carpark at Broadway Sydney Shopping Centre in Glebe, in Sydney’s inner-west, when they lost control of the vehicle while attempting to retrieve a parking ticket.
Dashcam footage from the car behind captured the learner driver struggling to reach the ticket machine from the window of a red Skoda SUV before suddenly crashing through the lowered boom gate.
A Mercedes in the neighbouring lane was cut off as the vehicle skidded forward, crashed into a raised platform and finally collided with a wall.
The video has attracted hundreds of mostly sympathetic comments for the driver.
‘Oh man I feel for that learner driver!’ one viewer said.
‘Definitely will remember that for years to come!’
‘Looks like [they] pushed down on the accelerator to get more height to reach the ticket then freaked out and kept going,’ another agreed.
The learner driver is pictured approaching the ticket machine in the carpark of Broadway Sydney Shopping Centre in Glebe
The vehicle lurched forward, smashing through the lowered arm of the boom gate
The vehicle then smashed into a pillar (pictured) before crashing into the far wall
While some viewers questioned why the supervising passenger failed to pull the handbrake or offer advice, others suggested there was not enough time.
‘The person instructing them is clearly f***ing clueless,’ one user wrote.
Another said the driver had learnt a ‘harsh but important lesson’.
‘S*** happens,’ one user wrote, before adding: ‘This is what insurance is for.
‘I would hope this person recovers and is able to be a better driver because of it.’
A spokesperson for Broadway Shopping Centre owner Mirvac confirmed they were aware of the incident and added no injuries were reported.
‘The safety of our customers, the community, our retailers and our employees is our highest priority,’ they said.
