Elderly woman arrested after crashing into Sandy restaurant, police say

SANDY — Diners at Los Garcia, a well-loved Mexican food restaurant in Sandy, were settling in for lunch when a white SUV barreled through the front of the building.

Surveillance cameras captured the moment the vehicle plowed into the front dining area, sending glass and debris across the room.

Surveillance video from Los Garcia in Sandy showing the moment an SUV crashed into the restaurant on Wednesday.

Greg Shoop, who was meeting a friend for lunch, said the crash came out of nowhere.

"All of a sudden there was this loud boom and glass went flying," Shoop recalled. "A table went flying and I thought, who did what? And I could see the dust and smoke… so I leaned forward and saw that there was a car."

Surveillance video from Los Garcia in Sandy showing the moment an SUV crashed into the restaurant on Wednesday.

Shoop said Los Garcia is one of his favorite spots — affordable food, friendly staff and a reliable lunch choice. But this visit was unlike anything he expected.

"Yeah, not on my bucket list," he said.

The impact pushed tables into diners and nearly knocked down an interior wall. Shoop said the outcome could have been far worse.

"If she would've come into the parking lot to the front where we were … all three booths had people in them. It would've been an entirely different story. She picked the right place to hit, that's for sure," Shoop said.

Police suspect DUI

Sandy police said the woman is in her 70s, and they arrested her on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

"She seemed to be disoriented … distraught, of course. I saw people helping her out," Shoop said.

Despite the chaos, police said no serious injuries were reported.

Shoop said he's grateful everyone walked away and grateful the restaurant he loves will soon reopen.

"My favorite Mexican restaurant now has a drive‑in," he said with a laugh. "You have to make light when I realized nobody was hurt and everything was going to be OK … Small businesses are so dependent on daily business, so I was really grateful to hear they are going to be up and running."

The owners told KSL they're relieved their customers and employees are OK and hope to reopen as soon as Thursday.

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