Pedestrian Hit by Vehicle at Newfound Gap Parking Lot

A motorist in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park struck a pedestrian after accidentally hitting the gas pedal on Sunday afternoon.

According park spokesperson Jamie Sanders, rangers responded to a reported collision between two vehicles in the Newfound Gap parking lot on Sept. 24, 2017. The collision resulted in property damage only. In order to not impede traffic flow through the parking area, rangers asked both drivers to move their vehicles into parking spaces while they processed the report.

After moving his vehicle into a parking space, 71-year-old Harry Spence, of Goodland, Fla., struck the gas pedal, causing his vehicle to jump the curb and hit a pedestrian identified as Larry Graves, 70, of Lenexa, Kan.

An ambulance transported Graves to University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he was treated and has since been released.