'It's not easy losing a parent, especially when you are that young'
ALBANY, Ore. -- Getting a haircut at the Perfect Look Salon last Friday, Charlene O'Connel was having her hair shampooed when a car came crashing through the front of the building, pinning her between the sink and the car, according to police.
O'Connel died a short time later at the hospital from internal injuries.
How someone could have been hit and killed by a car while sitting at the shampoo sink at a hair salon is difficult to comprehend.
"Just getting your hair done one minute, next minute you got a car just coming in," said Scott Masse, an Albany resident. "I can't imagine what was going through everybody's mind."
Police say the driver, 79-year-old Margaret Zip, hit the gas instead of the brake. Police would not say whether charges were pending or not. The case remains open.
O'Connel, 55, was a wife and mother of two girls, one in college, the other now 14. Her cousin Sandy Wilson said O'Connel was devoted to her family.
"A fantastic mom," Wilson said. "She's a mom, yeah, good mom."
Wilson remembers favorite memories of her cousin and worries about O'Connel's husband and kids.
"I pray they get through this," she said. "It's not easy losing a parent especially when you are that young."
