Mounties are investigating a three-vehicle crash that sent one car onto the sidewalk in Richmond Wednesday morning, where it struck two pedestrians and slammed into the front of a restaurant.
After the initial collision, which took place on No. 3 Road near Westminster Highway around 10 a.m., witnesses said a car driven by a senior veered off the road, hit a fire hydrant and a tree and then plowed into The One Café.
The vehicle also struck two people, a 49-year-old woman and a 61-year-old man, and sent them onto the sidewalk along with a shower of glass shards from the restaurant’s window.
Both victims, one of whom bystanders identified as a well-known panhandler, were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The 78-year-old driver stayed at the scene and also suffered unconfirmed injuries. Mounties said she was transported to hospital in stable condition.
Fortunately, no one else was injured. There were no customers at the front of The One Café when the car came crashing in, and all the employees were in the back.
The cause of the three-vehicle collision that triggered the incident hasn’t been confirmed, but Mounties said they have ruled out alcohol as a factor.
The Richmond RCMP’s Road Safety Unit is continuing to investigate.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Mounties at 604-278-1212, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
