FARMINGTON – A 92-year-old woman driving on the wrong side of the road Saturday night thought she had hit a sign instead of another car and drove away from the scene, police said Monday.

Elizabeth Knox, 92, of Farmington was driving a white 1996 Oldsmobile on Route 4 across the Sandy River Bridge after dusk Saturday when she was confused by low light and somehow ended up on the wrong side of the road, Farmington officer Nathan Reid said.

Donald Cash, 54, of New Vineyard was driving to Hannaford with a friend in a red 1989 Ford Festiva when he saw Knox’s car coming toward him.

“All of a sudden I just saw headlights on my side of the road,” Cash said. “I won’t repeat the words I was using. They didn’t slow down. They didn’t veer to the right or the left.” He put on the brakes and had almost come to a stop by the time the Oldsmobile hit him.

The two cars hit nearly head-on, he said, driver’s side headlight to driver’s side headlight. Knox’s car veered to one side and drove by, Cash said. His car was totaled.

Knox could not be located for comment Monday.

Police searched for the white Oldsmobile over the weekend, with no luck. But on Monday, Knox’s son saw the damage to her car – about $3,000, according to police – and read about the accident in his morning paper. He called the police, Reid said.

When Reid went over to talk with Knox, she explained why she left the scene.

“Thinking it was only a sign, she drove home,” Reid said. “When we told her she hit another car, not a sign, she didn’t have a lot to say about it.”

Cash was treated and released at Franklin Memorial Hospital.

He was sore on Monday. “I feel like I fell off a cliff,” he said. He’s worried about how he’ll afford a new car. He’s had trouble finding work, he said. “It’s not like there’s money growing on trees anymore,” he said.

“It’s freaky when you see a car on your side of the road. It’s not slowing down, and it’s coming right at you. That’s something I won’t forget for quite a spell,” he said.

Still, he said, things could have been worse. He feels it was lucky he was the one Knox hit when she veered into his lane.

“It’s nobody’s fault. (Stuff) just happens. It’s so easy to blame the other person. It can always be worse,” Cash said.

“As it was, I saw what was coming and put the breaks on,” he said. “The upshot is – nobody was really hurt.”

Somebody could have been killed, he said.