Taxpayer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> New Ford Commercial with two girls on their way to
> Vegas along old US-66, several train shots
> Victorville truss bridge, also a shot of what
> looks like the old Amboy gas station (a long way
> to get to Vegas)

Driving to Vegas via Victorville and Amboy isn't so goofy. Maybe the driver was the same one who, a few years ago, "accidently" started driving her Mercedes down a flood control channel in search of a church parking lot. Must be the painkiller prescription drugs doing their thing.


[www.latimes.com]

Driver won't be charged after wayward ride in Verdugo Wash

Glendale police say the woman did not break any laws, although officials did send her driver's license to the DMV for review as to whether it will be revoked.

By Veronica Rocha, Los Angeles Times

January 28, 2012

A Glendale woman who drove her Mercedes-Benz down the Verdugo Wash at freeway speeds before getting trapped in the concrete-lined waterway will not face criminal charges because she broke no laws, authorities
said Friday.

The 53-year-old woman, who was not identified by police, was apparently looking for an underground church parking lot and drove into a maintenance entrance to the channel at Glenoaks Boulevard and Kenilworth Avenue, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

Officials initially thought she mistook the entrance for a freeway onramp. It was her first visit to the area, authorities said.

"This is not a traffic accident, so it really is a very expensive mistake," Lorenz said.

Upon entering the wash, the woman saw a maintenance crew driving there and followed them briefly before passing, police said.

In the journey down the wash, police said, the woman's Mercedes reached speeds of up to 70 mph. She eventually stopped after about a mile, having barreled down a stepped descent and braking just short of an
eight-foot drop into the Los Angeles River.

Glendale police and Glendale Public Works Department crews brought in a heavy tow truck to hoist the Mercedes from the wash.

Police took the woman's driver's license and sent it to the Department of Motor Vehicles for evaluation, Lorenz said. She must contact the DMV within five days about whether her license will be revoked, he said.

Law enforcement officials use that option with the DMV when they feel public safety is at risk, Lorenz said. He added that authorities are also investigating why the public works maintenance entrance was open
because it should have been secured.

The woman's insurance company agreed to pay the cost of removing the Mercedes and storing it in a tow yard, Lorenz said. But she may be held responsible for costs incurred by police and fire officials responding
to the incident.

The woman was taken to a hospital after complaining of back pain. Officials said she did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol.