Hatch has close call with D.C. pedestrian

Two weeks after attracting national attention for taking a Hummer on sort of a "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride," Sen. Orrin Hatch may have "grazed" a pedestrian with his own car on Tuesday.

Mary Ann Askers, "The Sleuth" columnist for the Washington Post, wrote Wednesday that a witness reported that 75-year-old Hatch "grazed" an unidentified woman with his beige Cadillac not far from the Capitol at the tail end of a nasty thunderstorm. "He hit her but she is OK," Askers said the anonymous source reported.

Hatch's office released a written statement to the Deseret News on Wednesday saying the senator actually narrowly missed the pedestrian.

"As he left the Senate Tuesday evening, Senator Hatch narrowly missed a pedestrian who was crossing the street near the Dirksen (Senate office) building," it said.

"The senator was driving slowly through the intersection of C and 1st streets when he suddenly saw an umbrella come down on his car. He immediately stopped, looked to his left and saw a woman who appeared to have jumped back clear of the vehicle."

The statement continues, "She seemed shaken and was obviously upset. So was the senator, who had not seen her and was mortified by what had nearly happened. Senator Hatch rolled down the window, told her he had not seen her an apologized profusely. Witnesses reported that she seemed to be OK."

The statement added, "The senator continued his drive home and, upon his arrival, alerted the Capitol Police about the incident. The senator feels terrible about the close call, but is so grateful the woman was not injured."

Last month, Hatch attracted national media attention for how he handled a Hummer during a Capitol Hill news conference where he touted how Provo-based Raser Technologies had converted the Hummer into a 100 mile-per-gallon hybrid vehicle.

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank reported how officials tried to get Hatch to put his foot on the brake to shift it into gear for a test drive. Hatch complained it still would not shift, then acknowledged he had his foot on the accelerator instead.

Hatch also didn't realize the vehicle was already on when he asked how to start it.

Milbank wrote that Hatch asked such unsettling questions as he was driving as, "Squeeze that button? … Do I park it this way? … I'm going to miss the curb? … Is there a reverse?"

Milbank also said Hatch was concerned that some photographers were too close as they tried to get shots. When he struggled to take another spin for photographers who wanted more shots, he had trouble finding reverse, and finally said, "I think we better leave it here."

Milbank wrote at the time, "As a Hummer driver, Hatch is one heck of a senator."

E-MAIL: lee@desnews.com