Acting Sheriff Craig Apple calls it one of the most horrific scenes he's ever seen. Three elderly women were killed Wednesday when a driver veered off the road in Voorheesville and ended up in the front of a church. Solomon Syed reports.

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VOORHEESVILLE, N.Y. -- Three people were killed and one person was injured in an accident involving an SUV and a group of pedestrians on Mountainview Street in Voorheesville Wednesday morning.

The Albany County Sheriff's Office said a Toyota Highlander driven by Luanne Burgess, 55, of Voorheesville went off the road around 8:30 a.m. and hit three elderly people who were along the side of the roadway near St. Matthew's Church.

The sheriff's office said the driver's foot or a flip flop she was wearing apparently interfered with the gas pedal.

Albany County Acting Sheriff Craig Apple said, "At around 8:30, 8:40 this morning, a resident went and dropped the child off at the elementary school down on the other end of the street, turned around to come down Mountainview, lost a flip flop. We don't know at this point if she was trying to pick the flip flop up or it got stuck or her foot got stuck. The car accelerated, and she crossed over the sidewalk and struck a group of elderly people who were waiting on a friend to come out of the church from using the bathroom."

The victims are identified as Carol Lansing, 66, of Green Island, Rosemarie Hume, 79, and Frances Pallozzi, 81, both of Waterford. The sheriff's office said the victims has been preparing to go on a hike in the area.

Burgess was taken to Albany Medical Center for non-life threatening injuries.

The church was also damaged when the vehicle struck a vestibule and the bell tower. No one inside the church was injured.

The investigation continues.

The mayor of the Village of Green Island was good friends with victim Carol Lansing.

Ellen McNulty-Ryan said Lansing was very involved in the community, serving as village trustee. She was also involved with several organizations in Green Island and was active in her church and senior citizens board.

The mayor released a statement about Lansing's death, saying, "This is my saddest day as mayor of this community. Today we lost a woman who was one of the most giving people I have ever known...She was a wonderful wife, mother, and grandmother. She was the 'glue' that held everyone together. She was one of the kindest and most even tempered people I have ever met. Our community lost a great person - and I lost a wonderful friend."