LIVERMORE — A top executive at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory died in a tragic accident Tuesday at the hands of an elderly driver who apparently hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, slamming her SUV into a gym where the woman was working out.
Kathy Baker, 49, the chief financial officer at the lab, was taking part in her regular morning exercise class when an 80-year-old woman barreled through the front glass doors of the LifeStyleRx gymnasium at 6:26 a.m., Officer Traci Rebiejo said. Six others were injured in the melee.
The driver apparently suffered “pedal confusion,” officials said, driving her Mercedes Benz ML350 into the middle of the gym before crashing into another glass partition and hitting Baker.
In all, seven people were taken to an East Bay hospital, where Baker died from her injuries, Rebiejo said.
The others were injured when they were hit from debris from the crash and had “stitches, bruises and complaints of pain — that sort of thing,” Rebiejo said, but none of their injuries were considered life-threatening.
The victims were participating in a TRX class, in which bands and cables are used to do body resistance workouts. They had been working out together for four years and were a tight-knit group, police said.
Baker was named chief financial officer at the lab in 2012, but had worked there for 14 years. Her husband, Jeff Baker, also is an employee at the lab, spokeswoman Lynda Seaver said.
“She was a very special person and a great friend to many here, so there are quite a few at the lab who are grieving,” Seaver said. “It was so sudden and tragic.”
Baker, a Washington State University graduate, met her husband when they were both attending the university. He sat behind her in calculus class, Jeff Baker recalled Tuesday.
“She was passionate about her job, she was driven,” said Jeff Baker, who added that his wife worked out at the gym three to four times a week.
He was at work at the Livermore lab when he heard about the crash and raced over to the gym to find out what had happened. By the time he got there, his wife had already been taken away in an ambulance.
“She was just the most wonderful, caring person you’ve ever met,” he said of his wife. “It’s kind of numbing. I’ve had tremendous support from the people I work with.”
Baker started her career in 1984 at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington. She joined the Science Applications International Corporation in 1995, working as business manager of its energy and environmental management group.
She started at Lawrence laboratory in 2001, and worked her way up the ranks, serving as business manager for a number of departments during her career.
“She’s a longtime employee, so she’s seen as family, and that’s why this hurts so much,” Seaver said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family at this time.”
“Pedal confusion” has had tragic results recently in the Bay Area. In most cases, the drivers are elderly residents. In July, a Martinez woman in her 80s hit and killed her husband after making the mistake. Last year, an 81-year-old woman crashed through the front doors of a Hayward church and came to a stop at the sanctuary’s altar, narrowly missing parishioners.
And in San Jose in 2011, a 90-year-old woman plowed through a nursing home’s recreation room, killing an 88-year-old man and 100-year-old woman who died later.
The woman in the Tuesday incident, who officials believe was attempting to park in the gym, “threaded the needle” as she drove through the front door, going between a beam that supports the second floor and a large wooden console that holds a big-screen TV, police said.
The SUV then crashed into a wall made of glass — from floor to ceiling — and shattered the glass. The SUV rolled into the room, where nine people, including an instructor, were doing a TRX class.
The vehicle didn’t stop until it hit a wall in the back of the gym. By the time it stopped, the SUV had traveled about 70 feet from the gym’s front door, police said.
Police have not released the name of the driver, who was wearing a seat belt and was not injured.
Authorities believe the crash was unintentional. It does not appear that alcohol or drugs played a role, Rebiejo said.
No arrests have been made. According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the registered owner of that vehicle, a woman age 80, has a clean driving record, with a valid driver’s license and no driving restrictions, accidents, tickets or convictions.
LifeStyleRx is a 70,000-square-foot gym and wellness center run by the Stanford Health Care-ValleyCare nonprofit organization.
The health club closed for the day after the fatal crash. In the afternoon, police tape surrounded the site as security officers manned both sides of the parking lot and a team of workers swept the shards of glass that littered the floor.
Tom O’Niel, a longtime member of the gym, showed up expecting to work out, and was shocked when he heard the news of the accident.
“It’s always so peaceful and loving. The last thing I’d expect is for someone to get run over,” he said.
Staff photographer Anda Chu and staff writer Matthias Gafni contributed to this report. Contact Chris De Benedetti at 925-482-7958. Follow him at Twitter.com/cdebenedetti.
