Shorewood Woman, 70, Caused Wreck At McDonald's Restaurant: JPD

JOLIET — The Joliet Police Department issued a Tuesday night press release revealing that 70-year-old Shorewood resident Esther Baker-Williams was responsible for the crash that destroyed the inside of the McDonald's restaurant on West Jefferson Street near the Joliet airport, also injuring one of the customers who was eating inside the dining room.

Baker-Williams was cited by the police for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

Joliet police spokesman Dwayne English said the crash resulted in the major damage to the fast-food restaurant, which was forced to close.

According to English, at 4:14 p.m., the officers responded to the McDonald’s at 4280 W. Jefferson St. for a crash with injuries. The officers discovered that one of the vehicles involved in the crash had collided into and entered the north side of the McDonald’s restaurant.

A Nissan Versa driven by the 70-year-old Shorewood woman was westbound in the inside lane of West Jefferson Street and collided into the rear of a GMC Acadia driven by a 55-year-old Joliet man, who was also going westbound on West Jefferson Street in the same lane as her.

The collision caused the Nissan to lose control and veer to the left across the eastbound lanes and into a McDonald’s parking lot, ultimately colliding into the north side of the restaurant, with the vehicle coming to rest inside the dining room.

A 31-year-old Plainfield man was inside the dining room at the time of the crash and was struck in the leg by a table and by shattered glass, causing minor injury.

Baker-Williams was taken to St Joseph Medical Center by the Joliet Fire Department with non-life-threatening injuries, English said.

Baker-Williams also reported suffering a possible medical event prior to the crash. The occupants of the GMC Acadia were uninjured, and the customer of the restaurant was evaluated by paramedics at the scene but was not transported to the hospital.

A City of Joliet building inspector responded to the scene due to the significant damage to the building caused by the crash, English said.