87-Year-Old Crashes Into Batavia Pepe's Restaurant: Police

BATAVIA, IL — Batavia police said an 87-year-old man was behind the wheel when a Toyota 4-Runner crashed into a Pepe's restaurant Wednesday afternoon. After hitting the building, the man, a resident of Batavia, backed up and then drove onto a snow bank on the north end of the parking lot, where the vehicle came to a stop. Police said an investigation showed the man was not intoxicated at the time of the crash.

No citations were issued because the crash was on private property, police said.

A restaurant patron said she sat down at Pepe's Mexican Restaurant on South Van Buren Street in Batavia Wednesday afternoon, just five minutes before the vehicle drove into the restaurant around 1:30 p.m. Yesenia Figueroa said because it was after the lunch hour, she was the only customer at the restaurant when she heard a noise and witnessed the crash she described as "very, very scary."

Batavia police and fire crews responded to the scene, and the driver of the SUV was reportedly taken to an area hospital. Police said the restaurant was evacuated and the damaged wall was secured.

The restaurant's front windows were smashed and much of the interior space was demolished in the crash. Figueroa said she believes the location should be made safer after the SUV easily made its way into the restaurant's dining room.

Figueroa said she almost got hit, adding that something told her to sit on the other side of the table. Anyone sitting across from her would've been killed, she said, adding that if anyone else was dining inside, they would've been hurt.