Driver reports flip-flop slipped, stuck under gas pedal

FORT WALTON BEACH — A Fort Walton Beach man and his son were startled Friday morning when a neighbor's car backed into their living room.

"Loud boom and car's in the living room," said the man, who asked that he not be named. He said he was in the bedroom and his son was in the kitchen eating cereal about 20 feet away from the point of impact. The boy reported hearing a loud engine sound before the accident.

The car, a Ford Freestyle, crashed through a front window and wedged itself in the home.

The driver, who lives across the street, said her foot slipped off the brake and became stuck. She was wearing flip-flops, but said the early morning hour and the fact that she was just getting over the flu may have been factors.

"I went from barely moving to my foot being stuck under the gas and I couldn't stop," she said. "I've been driving in flip-flops my whole life."

The accident happened at about 6:39 a.m. at a home on Bernarr Avenue.

No one was injured in the house or the car, according to Fort Walton Beach Police Department officials.

Two engineers were called to the scene to check the integrity of the home before the vehicle was removed.

"I'm not even going to ask how this happened," said the tow truck driver from Emerald Coast Towing.

The amount of damage to the home and the SUV is not available yet.