A woman died and three persons, including a child, were injured during an accident in Story County, Saturday morning. The Iowa State Patrol reports a 2007 Hyundai Sonata driven by 75-year-old Karen Wheeler, of Cambridge, was parked facing south on Main Street in Slater at around 11-a.m., with pedestrians in the roadway following a City parade. When Wheeler backed out of the parked position, her vehicle struck multiple pedestrians.

67-year-old Linda Nordstrom, of Huxley, was run over and left on the road. Nordstrom was transported by Mary Greeley EMS to Des Moines Methodist Hospital. 30-year-old Rikkie Powell, of Huxley, was struck and knocked from the path of the car. 59-year-old Mary S. Nienow, of Albert Lea, MN and six-year-old Reagan Powell, of Huxley, were struck and dragged under the car. Nienow died from her injuries at Mary Greeley Hospital, in Ames. The child was flown by Mercy Air to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. Rikkie Powell was transported to Mercy by private vehicle.

KCCI reports witnesses as saying the vehicle reversed from a parking spot on someone’s lawn and lurched up a small gully and into a street still filled with people beginning to leave the parade. Firsthand accounts describe an elderly driver who was very distraught and said she confused the gas for the brake pedal. Dozens of people raced in to offer help in any way they could, from those trying to lift the car to off-duty medical workers trying to render aid.

The accident remains under investigation. The Iowa State Patrol was assisted by Story County Sheriff’s Deputies and other local officials, at the scene.