WEST TOWN — A car plowed into West Town Bakery and Diner's patio early Saturday and caused "extensive" damages, according to the shop's general manager Patrick Wingert.
Wingert said the crash happened about 4:30 a.m. and the driver, who had tried to flee the scene, was arrested by area cops.
On Saturday, police and Fire officials did not immediately have information on the incident or the driver. Wingert said that the man driving the car was believed to have been intoxicated.
The bakery, 1916 W. Chicago Ave., planned to open a little later than usual after the crash. The bakery counter offering pastries and coffee to-go was open Saturday but the diner is closed until Sunday, Wingert said.
"Well...we're going to be opening a little late today. Somebody tried to get our awesome coffee and pastries without getting out of their car," the bakery posted on its Facebook page along with a video from the crash's aftermath:
According to Wingert, the driver plowed into a metal support beam in front of the store and shattered a window.
Two of the bakery’s delivery vehicles that were parked on the street were also damaged in the crash.
Around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, caution tape surrounded the bent support beam with a sign warning folks not to drive drunk.
The driver's mother, Jesenia Grimm, said that her son broke a finger in the crash and was taken to St. Mary's Hospital, where he passed drug and alcohol tests.
"My son was not driving under the influence," Grimm said, adding that the signs posted at the bakery about drunken driving made light of a serious situation.
Grimm said her son had hit a pothole, causing him to lose control of his car.
She said her son did get out of the car, but did not try to run away from it.
"He thought the car was going to explode," she said.
Grimm's son works as a stocker at Walgreen's and had saved up all of his money to buy the Ford Mustang he was driving. He was scheduled to start work at 7 a.m. Sunday and could not sleep, so he decided to go out and get gas for the car, Grimm said.
"It was raining, it was a bad judgment call [to drive]," Grimm said. "It was an accident that would not have happened if the city would fix the potholes," she added.
Grimm texted photos of the pothole to DNAinfo Chicago.
On Sunday, Officer Michele Lemon, a Chicago Police spokeswoman, said that the report from the incident was not available. However, there was no arrest of a male matching the description of Grimm's son for DUI on that date and time, according to police.
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