By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
An elderly man drove his truck into the wall of a local restaurant late Saturday, and a woman dining inside was taken to the hospital for treatment of possible injuries, officials said.
“What we know at this point is that an elderly man mistook the gas pedal for the brake pedal and drove into the building,” Val Verde County Sheriff Joe Frank Martinez told the 830 Times in a telephone interview shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday.
The crash occurred about 8 p.m. Saturday outside Cripple Creek Steakhouse, 5567 U.S. Highway 90, just northwest of Del Rio.
Val Verde County Judge Lewis G. Owens made his way to the restaurant from his home after being notified about the crash.
“It’s my understanding that there was a pickup truck trying to park outside the restaurant. The truck hit the building, and an individual eating inside the restaurant was struck by the wall when the truck pushed it in, and that individual has been transported to the hospital,” Owens said.
He said he had received a call that “a truck had gone through the restaurant and there were multiple injuries,” but when he arrived on scene to find the situation not quite as serious as first reported, he stayed for a short time before returning home.
Sheriff’s deputies on-scene took statements from the driver of the gray 2021 GMC Denali pickup, which carried paper dealer tags, indicating it had been purchased recently, and from Polo Del Rio, owner of the popular restaurant, which was crowded with patrons when the accident occurred.
Martinez in the telephone interview confirmed the injured woman was transported to the hospital “as a precaution,” for treatment of possible injuries.
Val Verde County Fire and Rescue Department personnel were also on scene.
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