Dick’s Drive-In is a Seattle fast-food institution, offering quick, cheap burgers, fries and shakes to an adoring public.
The Lake City Dick’s recently took a big hit on March 25, when a customer crashed straight into the drive-in’s front window, shattering it and causing the restaurant to close for more than a week.
The driver of the Ford Explorer that rammed Dick’s Drive-In has now been charged with driving under the influence, according to the Seattle PI. The suspect, Colin John Sandwith, who recently retired after 41 years at the University of Washington, has plead not guilty to those charges.
According to police, Sandwith collided into the front of the restaurant at around 9 p.m. on a Thursday evening, causing damage to its countertop, tiled wall and window. After the collision, Sandwith got out of the car and said that he had accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, investigators say.
The only injury came when a witness saw the SUV coming towards the restaurant and hurt his knee leaping out of the way. He was not taken to the hospital after receiving attention from local rescue.
Sandwith was taken to the police station and processed. He had no prior DUI record, and had received little more than traffic tickets in the past. His pretrial hearing for the DUI is scheduled for early May.
Dick’s representatives did not comment on the accident or provide an estimate of the damages caused in the accident. According to the article, plywood covered most of the windows, and a sign apologized for the closure and inconvenience.
The estimated closure time of the drive-in is about a little more than a week. The last recorded closure of the restaurant location for any period of time occurred when a fire started in the French fry cooker. The restaurant shut down for two weeks, and returned to business as usual soon after that.
Dick’s has been around since 1954, when the first Seattle location opened. The Lake City restaurant involved in the DUI crash has been slinging fries and burgers to hungry Pacific Northwesterners since 1963. There are currently five locations across Seattle.
