Upon responding to a 6:50 a.m. call dispatched for a vehicle accident at Jerry Dove Drive, Bridgeport Police discovered a 2010 Toyota Sienna which had rolled down a steep hill from Microtel Inn & Suites at Charles Pointe.

 

There were no hospital transports, according to Paul Bump, chief of Harrison County Bureau of Emergency Services. He said the driver was able to escape the vehicle before it descended the hill.

 

Amber Crimm, general manager of Microtel, said it is her understanding that the driver, a male, had been a guest at the hotel and that the accident occurred as he was exiting the parking lot.

 

“I think he went to back out of the parking spot and heard something, like he had run over something. He thought he might have left his briefcase outside, so he opened the door and when he went to put the car in drive to roll off it, his foot got caught and he kept going,” she said. “Luckily, he got out before (the vehicle) took him down the hill.”

 

The vehicle came to rest at the bottom of the hill, near the I-79 124 mile marker/Jerry Dove exit. It was removed from the scene by Dan Riggs of Dan Riggs Towing. It was a small tree which stopped the van from continuing into Route 279, he said.