Car hits IHOP restaurant
Published 10:56 pm Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Folks at the North Main Street IHOP had a few scary moments Wednesday afternoon when a car hit the building and shattered a window directly above a table where customers were seated.
No one was seriously injured during the incident, but Toni Elkin and her 7-year-old granddaughter, who had just sat down at the table, were shaken up and had small cuts on their heads and hands.
“I didn’t even realize what hit us,” Elkin said. “I look over and I see glass all over, and there’s a car right there.”
Elkin’s daughter and son-in-law had taken her grandson to a doctor’s appointment, and she was treating her granddaughter to IHOP. However, the two wound up taking home a free funny-face chocolate pancake and drinks from the restaurant.
Manager Shanta Fields witnessed the accident as she was walking in for her shift.
“It seemed to me like she was trying to park straight, but she gave it too much gas,” Fields said.
City spokeswoman Diana Klink said the 80-year-old driver, Lois Custer, of Suffolk, was charged with reckless driving on private property. Damage was estimated at $5,000.