Woman loses control of car, crashes through front of empty Redmond Ridge eatery
Published 6:00 pm Thursday, January 22, 2015
Editor’s note: Additional information at end of original article.
After driving out of a Chevron gas station/car wash, witnesses said a 70-year-old woman lost control of her car, striking a post indicator valve in the parking lot and ramming into the front of a Redmond Ridge restaurant at 22350 Northeast Marketplace Drive on Thursday morning.
When the accident occurred at about 9:36 a.m., no one was inside Himitsu Teriyaki or near the front and the woman was uninjured, according to Bryan Loney, acting lieutenant for Redmond Fire Station 18, which responded to the call.
“Witnesses said the car was accelerating around the corner,” Loney said of the area near 224th Avenue Northeast and up the street from Northeast Novelty Hill Road. “She took out the front glass door, went through the dining area and the car landed in the kitchen area (about 30 feet into the restaurant).”
The owner, Sue Lee, arrived while Loney and his crew were on the scene, the driver of the Honda was checked by an aid unit and the car was towed. Members of the King County Sheriff’s Office arrived along with two fire engines, a ladder truck, an aid unit and a battalion chief’s vehicle, Loney said.
David Isaac, club manager of the nearby Redmond Athletic Club, was standing at the front desk and saw the accident unfold.
“It was pretty scary stuff. It was kind of unreal, you didn’t expect it to happen,” he said, shaking his head on Friday morning. “Coming out of the car wash with a little bit more speed than normal, it’s a little bit alarming. You hear a few screeches, but nothing that made people worry. But then she hit this main road here and she must have had her foot all the way down on the pedal, because she picked up quite a bit of speed real fast — airborne, right through the restaurant.”
Isaac added that luckily business hadn’t picked up around the area yet and shops were just starting to open.
There was more luck involved since Lee is typically inside the restaurant at that hour, but slept in yesterday, Isaac said.
“She just missed it because of that. We were just happy that that happened,” he added about Lee not being present. “How many times does sleeping in help you out?”
According to King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. DB Gates, the woman was not issued an infraction on Thursday, but that may still happen.
At the Reporter‘s deadline, the restaurant has not reopened.
While Lee’s insurance will cover the multitude of repairs, according to her friend and fellow Redmond Ridge resident Christine Musser, she is in the process of starting a fundraising site for Lee at gogetfunding.com.
“It’s more of a thank you from the community to help ease this time for you,” said Musser, who met Lee seven years ago when their children attended kindergarten together. “She’s always helping out people. (For example) If someone was not able to afford something to eat, she’d give them some food.”
Musser is asking people to send stories about Lee and photos of her and the restaurant for the fundraising site to merrikindesigns@hotmail.com.
Photos courtesy of David Isaac
