BRAINTREE, MASS. (WHDH) - The woman who police say drove onto the second floor of a shopping plaza in Braintree last week is explaining what led up to the incident that went viral on the internet in the days that followed.
Susan Gauthier told 7NEWS she was behind the wheel of the Lincoln MKX that drove through the South Shore Plaza in Braintree last Thursday.
Gauthier managed to make it several hundred feet into the mall before coming to a stop as security guards motioned for her to halt.
“I was trying to go to the Apple store and I went the wrong way, which is easy to do down there, but it was a stupid mistake,” Gauthier said. “I went all the way up, I just never stopped and it was really stupid – it was my own fault, I admit it.”
Security footage captured the moment Braintree Police said the SUV went onto the second floor of the mall through the parking garage, making it about 60 yards down the pedestrian walkway before coming to a complete stop.
“When you go up the hill, there’s parking spaces and I said ‘geez, I want the Apple store,'” Gauthier said, describing the layout of the mall’s surrounding area.
No one was hurt during the incident, though Gauthier’s vehicle had some minor scratches.
The driver herself is doing alright, telling 7NEWS she was taken to the hospital for evaluation after the incident, but was released after several hours.
In the aftermath of the mall drive-through, police deemed Gauthier an immediate threat and had her license suspended.
Since then, she told 7NEWS she wished she had thought her actions through.
“If I had just stopped and (thought), you know when I went up to the parking lot, if I just said ‘where’s the Apple store’ to somebody, they would have told me, I’m sure,” Gauthier said. “People are pretty nice over there.”
Gauthier ultimately did get to the Apple store on Tuesday with the help of family to get what she needed.
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