Elderly Driver Crashes Through Joliet Restaurant Window

JOLIET, IL — An 85-year-old woman drove into the dining room section of a Joliet restaurant Thursday afternoon, according to Joliet police.

Joliet Police Sgt. Brad Dubs said the woman was driving a 2013 Scion westbound on Black Road when she turned north into the strip mall. According to witnesses, she seemed confused and was driving erratically and going back and forth from the gas to the brake.

She continued north into the strip mall and accelerated up and over the sidewalk and through the plate glass window at Aisha’s Southern Cuisine located at 2775 Black Road, according to Dubs. The crash occurred at 12:48 p.m.

Joliet Police Chief Ed Gregory said building inspectors came out to the site and closed the dining room portion of the restaurant.

Annette Mathis, owner of Aisha’s Southern Cooking said that she doesn’t expect to reopen tonight but will probably Friday.

“The dining room is totally destroyed and we’ve got to pick up all that glass,” Mathis said.

Mathis said she was in the back of the restaurant at the time of the crash.

“I probably wouldn’t be talking to you if I had seen it,” Mathis said.

Mathis heard what sounded like a huge explosion.

“The window was shattered and I was like, ‘What happened?’ and I still didn’t see the car. When I turned to walk to the back that’s when I saw the car embedded in the wall.”

Police said the woman would not receive any citations due to the accident occurring on private property, but police will petition to the Secretary of State for the woman to have to retake her driver’s exam to make sure she’s capable of operating a motor vehicle.

No one was injured in the crash, but the woman was taken to Presence St. Joseph Medical Center as a precaution.