Diners injured as restaurant hit by car

Jen Lawson

Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2002 | 9:45 a.m.

Eleven people were injured Tuesday when a car crashed through the side of the crowded Skillet Cafe on accident-plagued Charleston Boulevard.

It was the second time in nine days that a vehicle had slammed into the 1950s-style diner at 3923 W. Charleston Blvd.

"For the previous 20 years, nothing happened," restaurant co-owner Steve Maynard said. "We're all kind of stunned."

Maynard was cooking lunch at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday when a white Mitsubishi Mirage plowed into the west side of the restaurant at about 40 mph after being rear-ended by a 1992 Buick, police said.

"I saw my nephew's eyes get about this big," Maynard said, widening his eyes. "I heard a za-boom, and the car was in the restaurant."

Inside the Skillet Cafe about an hour after the crash, the car, which sustained extensive front and rear-end damage, remained, partially in the dining room.

Several booths and tables were wiped out. Dirty dishes and tips were still on other tables. Broken dishes, food, glass, car parts and other debris were strewn on the far side of the dining room.

Six people who had been in the restaurant were taken to area hospitals, as were two people who had been in vehicles involved in the chain-reaction crash. The most serious injury was a broken leg suffered by a man who had been in a corner booth, Metro Police Officer Rich Ramirez said. Most of the other injuries were cuts and bruises, he said.

A man, a woman and their 3-year-old child were in the Mitsubishi. They suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.

"It could have been worse," Ramirez said.

As he leaned against the restaurant counter and surveyed the wreckage, Maynard said the damage to the diner was worse than the Nov. 18 crash. In that case a car went through the door on the west side, breaking glass and causing electrical problems.

Lowell Hixson, whose family owns the building, said he was still getting estimates on the damage from last week's crash when the Mitsubishi broke through the boards that had covered the previous damage.

Maynard said he figured it "was just a coincidence" that two cars hit his family's restaurant within a week. But, he added, he thinks "they need to slow traffic down on Charleston."

Metro has identified parts of Charleston Boulevard as unsafe, but not in the area where the crash occurred.

On Tuesday Metro officers were conducting a special traffic enforcement effort a few miles away on Charleston between Buffalo Drive and Rampart Boulevard. From Oct. 12 to Nov. 10, that stretch of Charleston saw 10 crashes, more than any other area in the city's northwest, authorities said.

Police were also watching for unsafe drivers on Charleston between Decatur and Rainbow boulevards Tuesday. But while they were handing out tickets just blocks away, a 1992 Buick that was eastbound on West Charleston rear-ended the Mitsubishi, sending it careening into the restaurant at Westgate Shopping Center, between Hinson Street and Valley View Boulevard.

The Buick, driven by a woman, continued east, sideswiping a Dodge 4x4 pickup truck before veering into the westbound lanes of Charleston at Valley View. The Buick collided with a van before being stopped by a light pole just east of Valley View, Ramirez said.

Rick Plumb, who was driving the Dodge, said the Buick "just glanced off" the back of his vehicle.

"I was pretty fortunate it didn't do much damage," said Plumb, who moved to Las Vegas last week from Missoula, Mont. He said the crash doesn't color how he feels about Las Vegas. "It was just an accident, I think; I hope."

Plumb and the driver of Buick suffered minor injuries, police said. The names of the various drivers were not released by police.

Tuesday afternoon, investigators were trying to figure out what caused the Buick driver to lose control, but they were treating it as a hit and run. It was unclear if the woman suffered a medical emergency behind the wheel, or if drugs or alcohol were involved, Ramirez said.