Woman fined after Harmony Day carpark accident

An inexperienced driver has been fined for careless driving following an accident at the Harmony Day event at Stow Gardens in Geraldton on Saturday. Police say the red Mazda CX-9 was stationary in a carpark at the event at 1pm, when the driver, a 48-year-old woman, accidentally accelerated, crashing into a vehicle in front before driving over several bollards. Mid West Gascoyne District traffic co-ordinator Sgt Drue Pardoe said there were luckily no injuries from the crash, and following an investigation into the accident, the driver had been issued a fine. “We already had our hands full on Saturday dealing with the fire,” he said. “Thankfully this was just a case where inexperience led to a mistake being made and the woman was given an infringement.” A witness said the crash was deafening with the sound of screeching tyres and metal crumpling. “There was a busy market a few metres on from the crash,” he said. “It could have been much worse.”