9 Injured, Including 4 Kids, When SUV Reverses Into Restaurant

WAUKEGAN, IL — A driver sped backward into a restaurant Saturday afternoon, injuring nine people. It was not immediately clear what caused the woman, driving a 2015 Chevrolet Traverse, to reverse into Toluca's Mexican Restaurant around 12:30 p.m. in the 1400 block of Washington Street in Waukegan.

Seven people were hurt inside the restaurant, where a family had been eating at the time of the crash. Two were injured in the SUV — the elderly motorist and a young child passenger with non-critical injuries — according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Two adults and one child were critically injured. The child was taken to Lake Forest Hospital, while the pair of adults went to Condell Hospital. Two other adults and the two kids that suffered non-life threatening injuries were taken to Vista East and Vista West hospitals, according to WMAQ-TV.

Surveillance video shows the SUV back up across incoming traffic and narrowly miss a parked car before striking the restaurant.

"It's something like, 'Wow!' You can't believe it in the moment," Monserrat Gonzales, the daughter of the restaurant owner, told WMAQ."Because it's like, everything was okay, then out of no where, everything's like, 'What happened here?'" The restaurant is expected to be closed at least a week.

The driver, Constella Turner of Waukegan, was issued a citation for reckless driving and improperly backing up. She has a court date of Nov. 27. There was an estimated $30,000 to $40,000 damage to the storefront, fire officials told the Chicago Tribune.