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Coffee Spill Causes Constant Friendship Cliff Crash

Catherine Bezanson was leaving Starbucks when she took a wrong turn.

 
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Catherine Bezanson, 18, describes what happened when she drove her car over a cliff.
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Catherine Bezanson, 18, describes what happened when she drove her car over a cliff.

UPDATE (1:27 p.m.)—Catherine Bezanson gave the Starbucks drive-thru a whole new meaning Wednesday morning. After spilling coffee inside her Volvo while pulling onto Constant Friendship Boulevard around 11 a.m., the 18-year-old crashed through a fence and over a short cliff to the parking lot below.

The Bel Air resident escaped with no more injuries than a seat belt rash. There were no passengers in the vehicle.

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“I’m safe—nothing wrong with me,” Bezanson said about an hour after the crash. “I bought coffee for my family and I was trying to come out of the parking lot, but the coffee spilled and I thought I put my foot on the decelerator, but I hit the wrong pedal and as I reached over to fix the coffee spill, the car went with me.”

Bezanson’s parents, who asked not to be named, came to the scene to pick her up.

“My only comment is I’m glad she’s not hurt,” her father said.

Bezanson wasn’t too concerned for her safety—at first.

“I am very upset about the car,” she said. “Actually I was more worried about the car than I was about myself until I realized that I could flip over.”

A Maryland State Police trooper arrived at the incident by chance before the Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company and Harford County Sheriff's Office also responded.

As the car was towed away about an hour later, Bezanson said she learned a lesson.

“If coffee spills in your car, don’t think about the coffee," she said. "Think about getting to your destination, turning your car off first, then fixing the problem, because it’s definitely not worth it.”

Related Topics: Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company, Constant Friendship Boulevard, Crash, and Maryland State Police

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GWK

7:14 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Let's see...where is that decelerator? Brake, gas, clutch... Nope, no decelerator here. Maybe it was " I stepped on "de accelerator" - that makes perfect sense. Was it the long skinny pedal or one of those short wide ones? All I can say is "Oops!"

Adrienne

12:26 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Um.... Hit the brakes ??? Women drivers, I swear. Haha. FYI, I'm a woman :)

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Eric bel air

1:31 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

She called it the "decelerator" in the video :)

Hollee Sifford

12:32 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

OUCH!!!!THAT HAD TO HURT..hope the driver is o.k.

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Bel Air Mom

12:46 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Boy Brad...u were at the right place at the right time!! Great pics! Glad there were no injuries

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Dave

1:14 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Poor Volvo. Lol at women drivers comment.

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lynn

1:14 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

I feel a slew of women jokes coming. Was she blonde?

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Brad Gerick

1:30 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

I've updated this—with a video interview of the driver. http://patch.com/A-mBpL

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Eric bel air

1:32 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Wonder if she's gonna sue starbucks like the lady did to McDonalds a few years ago ;-)

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Meredith

2:12 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Glad she is ok, but this is why the driving age should be raised- too many inexperienced drivers doing careless things, especially here in Maryland.

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Mshots

2:20 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Was she reentering the atmosphere? Did her parachute not deploy?

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John Citzen

8:59 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Glad the young lady is allright. Anyone who hasn't made a mistake in their drving career (is a liar). Course this was a big show. Oh and Mshots it is not a parachute it is a unfallinger.

Phil Dirt

2:37 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

It's all about location. If this poor girl would have done this in almost any other parking lot, she would have hit a curb or another car, with only minor damage and no public notice. Unfortunately, she was in a bad place and took a dive.

BTW, doesn't it look like the fence simply detached rather than absorb any impact or repel the car? It appears to be purely decorative, which may be something that should be looked into in case this happens again there or in similar situations.

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Mark

8:41 am on Thursday, October 6, 2011

I say keep the decorative fencing, you can't go around and protect everybody every time. Otherwise, you would have to pay extra for steel gloves when you buy a hammer. You have to learn to be more careful, this time she got lucky.

RP

2:51 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Is she going to turn this video into her insurance company?

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Kyle

3:06 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Carelessness if you ask me ! Lol

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segram

3:14 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Her parents were the smart ones. I wouldn't have given my name either, lol.

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Theresa Lee

4:03 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

She isn't even talking about how lucky she was in not hurting anyone or herself. Very fortunate young women. As far as women drivers, men have mishaps as well guys. Grateful no one was hurt.

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BJMRamage

5:01 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Good thing she didn't get a Wegman's coffee.

That is a much bigger drop.

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Old Skool

9:42 pm on Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Starbucks coffee is already expensive but this is going to be painfully expensive.
Yeah about that decelerator, it connects to the flux capacitor. Maybe thats what they call the brake pedal in Sweden.

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helpussomeone

6:17 am on Thursday, October 6, 2011

She better switch to decaf! Lol

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Leroy Smith

6:56 am on Thursday, October 6, 2011

The "decelerator" comment is a simple "brain fart." She obviously quit thinking straight the minute the coffee spilled.

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David Stoll

7:20 am on Thursday, October 6, 2011

This is whats going to drive 65-70 MPH with me on 95 each day??????

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Bob

10:47 am on Thursday, October 6, 2011

Maryland just might have the worst drivers after all...and within the state, Harford County drivers take the prize as the worst of the worst. This is proof.

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Bart

11:10 am on Thursday, October 6, 2011

That's why they're called accidents. If it had been on another type of lot, she would have only hit a curb, retaining wall etc. Glad she's OK

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radiogirl

11:40 am on Thursday, October 6, 2011

I think she needs to call this one in to Click and Clack the Car Talk guys. I can hear them laughing now.

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Dick NIxon

12:08 pm on Thursday, October 6, 2011

She MUST be a Darwin's Award candidate

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Ruffin

1:36 pm on Thursday, October 6, 2011

Glad she was not hurt..just the embarassment. Did the coffee spill while she was texting??

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francoamerican

1:59 pm on Thursday, October 6, 2011

That is a possibility that she was texting. Talking and texting on cellphones is illegal now, You would never know it by riding around and seeing people doing it in their cars. As a matter of fact I see more talking and texting gone on now then before the law was passed.

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Laura Lee

4:11 pm on Thursday, October 6, 2011

Maybe if she were to have hit the 88mph mark, the flux capacitor would have kicked in and she could've gone back in time to avoid this mess...lol glad she is ok :)

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Eleanor

5:01 pm on Thursday, October 6, 2011

Just thank God she is all right. You don't need to make snarky comments.

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Mark

8:45 pm on Thursday, October 6, 2011

But the snarky comments are the only reason we read Patch. :)

miK

5:04 pm on Thursday, October 6, 2011

If anyone is familiar with the area, you have to wonder how she actually did this. She would have had to come out of starbucks turn right to leave the area and then make a sharp right to hop the curb and then go another 20 feet before she hit the fence. Something sounds shady, she's lucky she didn't hit any other cars!

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Linda

7:05 pm on Thursday, October 6, 2011

ditto miK!! but glad she is ok

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