VENTURA : Car Crashes Into Busy Restaurant
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A driver trying to park in front of a Ventura cafe crashed through the wall and into a roomful of diners having Sunday brunch, police said.
Eva McDermott, 66, of Ventura was pulling into the disabled parking slot in front of the Hill Street Cafe at 1050 Hill Road about 11:47 a.m. when she accidentally hit the accelerator, Ventura Police Officer Fred McGill said.
Her car jumped the curb, crashed through two large panels of plate glass and knocked an elderly Ventura couple about four feet, McGill said.
Lupe Garcia, 68, and her husband Joseph Garcia, 69, were sitting with their backs to the window, waiting for a table, McGill said. Both were taken to Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura and treated for scrapes and bruises, then released.
The Garcias were the only people hurt, McGill said.
About 175 to 200 people were in the cafe when the incident occurred, Manager Dan Noftsier said. “Sunday brunch is one of our busiest days and, to top it off, it was Mother’s Day,” he said.
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