Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 12, 1991 TAG: 9104121036
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FAIRFAX LENGTH: Medium
Samaha's routine trip to a bank nearly turned into disaster when her car shot off the edge of the two-story terrace, snapped through five of six steel cables and dangled at a perilous 40-degree angle.
For more than an hour, her errand became a well-watched event. A lunchtime crowd gathered beneath the garage. All eyes were riveted on the car, seemingly hanging by a thread, with the driver sitting calmly behind the wheel.
"She's a lot more calm than I'd be," said Tina Williams, who watched the drama. "They'd have had to give me a shot to get me through this."
"She's as cool as a cucumber," said Jim Merritt. "I can't get over it. Normally, you'd think you'd be crying."
Until most of the city's Fire Department responded to the Fairfax Bank & Trust Co., the only thing keeping the car from finishing the final 10 feet of its nose dive was the single cable that didn't snap.
Fire officials said they don't know what would have happened to Samaha, 61, of Fairfax City, if the car tumbled over the edge.
Dick Brown, a motorist in the garage, was backing out just as Samaha was pulling in. She was having a little trouble "lining herself up," he said, and when her car passed his she smiled and tooted her horn. Then she roared through the guard rail.
A horrified Brown ran into the bank, shouting "a lady has gone over the wall" and imploring startled workers to call 911. Then he returned to the parking garage to tell the woman to hold on.
Faces pressed to windows in nearby office buildings watched rescue workers painstakingly stabilize the wobbly car.
To keep the car and Samaha from going over the edge, they attached two ropes to the rear axle and tied them to a tree. Next they installed two jacks to the front of the car for a brace.
Fearing the remaining cable might snap, police kept pushing the growing crowd back.
Rescue workers passed blankets to Samaha to use as a cushion around her face in case the worst did happen. Her eyeglasses came off. Her seat belt stayed on. A firefighter was assigned to talk Samaha through each step.
Finally, rescue workers carefully pulled her out of the passenger side of her car - without a scratch. She was placed on a waiting stretcher, where she clasped her hands neatly and chatted pleasantly with reporters.
"I guess I went a little too far. I am happy," she said. "God bless these fellows here - they've been wonderful."
by CNB