By Mark LaFlamme,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Police said a water bottle lodged under a brake pedal led to a two-vehicle crash Thursday in which a pickup truck rolled over and a car slid into the side of a hospital.

Police, fire and rescue crews were joined at the 4 p.m. crash site by Central Maine Medical Center workers who rushed outside after a car slammed into their building.

Only minor injuries resulted from the 4 p.m. wreck, but commuter traffic became snarled as police tried to steer motorists around the scene.

Police said 43-year-old Atiya Haji of Lewiston was pulling into traffic from the Rite-Aid parking lot on Main Street when she stepped on the accelerator and then could not slow down.

Police said a water bottle had lodged under the brake pedal, preventing Haji from bringing the Ford under control.

The car sped into Main Street traffic where it struck a northbound pickup truck driven by Jeffrey Lee, 27, of Turner, police said. The Ford pickup was knocked over in the impact and completely rolled in the roadway.

“It was sitting back on its tires when we got there,” said Lewiston police Sgt. David St. Pierre. Lee was not hurt.

Haji’s car continued across traffic, bounced over a curb on the other side of the street and then slid into the side of CMMC.

Haji and a passenger, 23-year-old Yahya Burale, both complained of neck and head pain suffered in the wreck. They were taken into the hospital to be examined and later released.

Police Officer Derrick St. Laurent was heading an investigation. Police believe the bottle that lodged under the brake pedal had rolled from beneath the seat.

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