Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Woman fined $368 for driving down stairs at Vancouver’s Sheraton Wall Centre

A woman who was filmed driving her car down a set of stairs at a Sheraton Wall Centre in downtown Vancouver has been fined $368.

A woman who was filmed driving her car down a set of stairs at a downtown Vancouver hotel has been fined $368.

The bizarre incident unfolded around 8:00 a.m, Friday, July 19, at Sheraton Wall Centre.

 In a bizarre mishap, a woman has somehow managed to drive her SUV down a set of stairs at Sheraton Wall Centre. Photo: Ian LampmanIn a bizarre mishap, a woman has somehow managed to drive her SUV down a set of stairs at Sheraton Wall Centre. Photo: Ian Lampman

The woman mistakenly drove past signs for the hotel’s parking lot and wound up driving her SUV down the building’s staircase, which leads to Hornby Street.

The cringe worthy incident went viral on social media after a man working nearby filmed the mishap and shared a video to his Facebook page. The video was viewed and shared thousands of times but has since been taken down.

The footage showed the woman slowly driving her SUV down the stairs, scraping the car’s undercarriage as she went.

The woman behind the wheel of the SUV later said she was “mortified and embarrassed” about what she had done, according to Global News. She also told Global News she was saddened that people decided to film her misfortune rather than help her.

Vancouver Police Department Constable Steve Addison said the Collision Investigation Unit had looked into the incident and the woman was issued a $368 ticket for “driving without due care and attention under the Motor Vehicle Act.”

“People have made light of this on social media, I’ve seen it, but we have to remember that this was largely due to driver inattention and it was an error on a part of the driver,” Const. Addison said at a press conference on Monday.

“It is the nature of the world we live in that people are going to take out their cellphones when they see unusual things.

“In this case a number of people did record this driver. My understanding is that she has not enjoyed her 15 minutes of fame and she is rightfully embarrassed.”

He highlighted that road safety was a shared responsibility.

“This is a busy city, there’s a lot of people walking, cycling, driving... Everybody’s trying to get where they want to go and get there in a safe manner,” Const. Addison said.

“We need everybody do their part to help everybody get where they need to go.”

He said the VPD believed the incident had been fairly resolved.