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The 80-something driver was hospitalized with a severe leg injury after the chain-reaction crash on East 54th Street.
After her sedan mounted a resident's lawn, the driver put it into reverse and hit the accelerator instead of the brake, knocking down a hedge and the fence before hitting the minivan, neighbor Dominick Scalcione told Daily Voice.
"She then went forward, jamming the accelerator again instead of the brake," Scalcione said.
"One wheel of the car rolled up on a giant oak, sending the car airborne," he said, "after which it came clear across a two-lane roadway, over the curb, across three more properties and into my house, knocking part of the foundation away into the basement -- and missing the gas meter by two feet."
Both airbags deployed, Scalcione said, adding that there were no passengers in the car.
Elmwood Park police and firefighters and the borough Volunteer Ambulance Squad responded.
"The Elmwood Park mayor and council have been working diligently to improve safety along East 54th Street," Scalcione noted.
"In September they reduced the speed limit from 35 to 25 mphalong the entire length of E54th from Broadway to Molnar and in the near future the borough will be installing all new pedestrian crosswalk signs," he said. "Re-stripping all roads is also in the works."
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