Breakfast Injury at Boulangerie : Trolley Hits Truck, Which Hits Bakery

A pickup truck gave customers and workers at a downtown bakery a breakfast surprise Wednesday when it crashed through the store’s window after being struck by a San Diego Trolley, police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

Robert Alan Lustbader received minor cuts to his face, hands and legs after the vehicle, which was heading south on 4th Avenue, crashed into La Petite Boulangerie, where he was eating breakfast, at 8:20 a.m., police said. He was taken to UC San Diego Medical Center for treatment and released, according to police.

Scott McMartin, whose truck gave a few people a scare, was cited for running a red light. He and his passenger, Irene Langois, were not injured in the accident. The pickup was struck on its left fender by the trolley, traveling west on C Street, and careened out of control into the bakery, according to Robinson. Nazli Rodriguez, a passenger on the trolley, said the drivers of both vehicles attempted to avoid the collision.

“I felt the trolley pull, like the driver was trying to stop it, and then this thud,” Rodriguez said. “It was obvious the driver of the pickup truck was trying to veer and avoid hitting the trolley, but it was so out of control it went right into the store. I saw some guy who must have been sitting right by the window get thrown in the air. It was awful.”

Another witness, Richard L. Stephens Jr., said the driver of the truck seemed to be trying to avoid hitting a planter and light post on the southeast corner of 4th Avenue and C Street, and ended up going into the store.

Cortney Slaughter, manager of the bakery, said the store closed for the day to clean up the debris left by the accident.

“It’s not real bad,” he said, “but it made a pretty good mess.”

He had no estimate of damages to the bakery, but said that two 22-foot by 5-foot window panes and the cash register podium had been damaged and food on a breakfast bar was ruined.

Langley Powell, president/managing director of San Diego Trolley Inc., said damage to the trolley was “insignificant”--about $200--but that the accident delayed the trolley about 45 minutes.

During that period, both eastbound and westbound trolleys ran through a single set of tracks between 8th Avenue and the Santa Fe Depot, he said.

Powell said there have been 16 other accidents this year involving trolleys, most of them minor.

Times staff writer Kathie Bozanich contributed to this story.