Pickup Truck Driver Seen On Surveillance Footage Crashing Into Highland Park Cafe, Fleeing Scene
HIGHLAND PARK (CBSLA.com) — Police on Sunday morning are searching for the driver of a pickup truck caught on surveillance video slamming into a popular Highland Park cafe late at night, then reversing and fleeing the scene.
At about 2 a.m., a pickup truck slammed into the trendy Highland Cafe near the intersection of Avenue 50 and York Blvd.
The cafe's surveillance video shows a pickup truck slamming into the cafe's glass storefront, then making several attempts to reverse back onto the street.
The truck eventually freed itself of the wreckage and the driver fled, although passersby tried to make the driver stay at the scene.
The restaurant -- a popular breakfast spot -- was closed at the time and no injuries were reported.
The cafe expects to be closed for a few weeks as it deals with the damage.
CBS2's Joy Benedict spoke to some of the cafe's 17 workers and the owners.
"It's amazing that no one got injured," said Arnie Miller, a co-owner.
"This is pretty crazy," said Isabelle Haroutunian, an employee ,"I was expecting a nice normal day at the job I love."
She is one of the workers who will not get paid for a while.
"For about two weeks or so, I'll have no income, this is my only source of income for the moment," she said.
The store's glass front was completely destroyed as was a lot of the equipment inside, Benedict reported. The cafe's owners have insurance and will rebuild.
This is the second major hit-and-run in the neighborhood in the past week. On Sept. 18, a woman crossing the street was fatally struck by a driver who stopped to remove his license plates before fleeing the scene. That driver is still also at large.
