Yellowknife (May 21/04) - A Workers Compensation Board car backed into the wall of the Gold Range Hotel, Thursday morning.

Inside the building, Gold Range bartender Jason Coles heard "a thunderous thud" and saw items on a windowsill fall to the floor.

According to WCB spokesperson Dave Grundy, the safety inspector driving the car, parked and got out of the vehicle.

The transmission appears to have slipped into reverse and slowly rolled backward, up and over the curb and into the wall. The WCB officer made sure no-one was in the way of the driverless vehicle, but was unable to get back into the car to pull it out of gear because the doors automatically locked.

No damage was apparent on the hotel wall, but the car's back bumper and signal lights were damaged.

The scene drew a small crowd of bemused onlookers. The car will get a mechanical check to make sure it's safe to drive.