Car Just Misses Crashing into Front Doors of Elementary School

No one was injured Wednesday morning when a car narrowly missed crashing into the front doors of , police and school officials said.

Fort Lee resident Fatos Bakir, 34, told police she was trying to park her 2001 Nissan Maxima in the first parking spot in front of the school when she stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake, according to Fort Lee police.

The car went out of control, hit the front steps of the school and ended up just inches from the front doors, police said.

“A parent was parked in this first spot here—the principal’s spot—she was dropping off the kids,” said Interim Superintendent of Schools Steven Engravalle, surveying the damage at the school shortly after the crash. “Apparently, she hit the gas pedal instead of the brake; clearly hit it very hard. She may have panicked.”

Business Administrator Cheryl Balletto was also on scene just after the accident, along with Diane Henry of School No. 1, Buildings and Grounds head Jack Denichilo and head custodian Johnny Arroyo. Balletto said that after jumping the curb and going up the steps, the car stopped only about three inches from the front doors.

Police confirmed that there were no injuries but said the front steps of the school were badly damaged.

“No one was injured,” Engravalle said. “That’s what we’re most thankful for. The majority of the children are always corralled in the back of the school in the morning. No children were affected. The school day remains unaffected.”

Henry said “a lot of teachers” responded to assist the children and re-assure them that nobody had been hurt.

“[The teachers] immediately banded together, as they always do in any type of emergency situation, and assisted in making sure that the children were properly re-routed and entered the building without incident,” Engravalle said after the car was towed away.

The Fort Lee Building Department and Fort Lee fire inspectors responded to the scene of the accident, which occured at 8:26 a.m., and deemed the building safe. But because of the damage to the steps, the main entrance to the school was closed until further notice, police said.

Fort Lee Board of Education president Arthur Levine said the accident “could have become a parent’s worst nightmare.”

“They send their children to school where the expectation is that their children are safe,” Levine said in an email. “Then we have an accident like this, and it shatters that expectation.”

He said that while it may sound “odd,” he was "grateful" that the only thing he had to report was damage to the building.

“Money can fix a building, but nothing could overcome the injury, or worse, to one of our students or employees,” Levine said, adding that he was in contact with Engravalle throughout the morning.

“When I go home tonight, I am going to hug my kid a little tighter,” Levine said. “I am certain that that sentiment will be echoed throughout our town. We dodged a bullet on this incident. Things like this serve as a reminder to us all as to what is truly important in life.”

Engravalle said the district needs to look at the possibility of "creating some fortified barriers and planters in front of our schools."

"We could not only beautify the front, but also make it safer at the same time so that something like this never happens again," Engravalle said. "This is just a very, very serious situation that had a positive outcome."

Levine said the school board would release a complete statement “once all the relevant facts are known.”

Police said the crash was "purely an accident," and that Bakir was not ticketed or charged.