NIU secretary Leslie Pergament-Nenia looked for the shade of a tree and not another vehicle when she parked near Anderson Hall in Lot 2 last week.

“I gave [my parking spot] a lot of thought. I parked in the shade,” Pergament-Nenia said.

University Police called Pergament-Nenia to the lot just after noon on Tuesday where she discovered biomechanics professor Yoshiaki Takei had driven his 2004 Honda Pilot up the hood and on top of her 1994 Chevrolet Lumina. No one was injured in the accident.

Takei, of West Chicago, attempted to park in a stall opposite the Lumina when his previously bandaged right foot slipped from the brake to the gas pedal, police said.

Takei’s SUV hopped a median separating the aisles and came to rest on both the Lumina and a 1999 Volkswagen Jetta parked next to it.

Brad Besonen, an ITS department employee, witnessed the accident as he walked through the lot with co-workers.

“We just heard the crunch and saw [the Pilot] flap on top,” Besonen said.

DeKalb firefighters helped Takei through the rear hatch of the Pilot. University Police did not ticket the professor, Sgt. Todd Henert said.

A crowd of NIU students and employees cheered as Lovett’s towers and DeKalb firefighters separated the Lumina and Pilot after working for more than an hour.

Pergament-Nenia said she thought her Lumina was totaled and joked that her next car would be “a big, honkin’ SUV!”