Driver Bailed From SUV Before Crashing Into Highlands Restaurant

DENVER (CBS4) - An SUV crashed into a building in Denver's Highlands neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, and the driver wasn't even in the vehicle.

There wasn't any real structural damage to the building that's home to the Pochito's Tortilla Factory. But employees were standing right where the SUV came smashing through the wall.

Restaurant owner Levi Luna is optimistic about reopening soon.

"It's a big hole, but it's just wood and mason, so as long as nobody got injured, that can be fixed," Luna said.

The driver, Joseph Esquibel, has been cited with careless driving. Luna says the 24-year-old told him that his SUV had just been picked up from service and it accelerated.

"His car accelerated and he panicked because he couldn't stop it," Luna said. "He just bailed out of the car and let it roll … he jumped out of the car while it was running."

Luna says the car rolled across three yards, hit his neighbor's new fence, and then crashed into his building and hit an employee on the other side of the wall.

"As soon as the car came it knocked the table over and pushed her forward," Luna said.

The employee only suffered minor injuries.

"It could have turned out pretty bad. There are a lot of kids that live next door and run in the neighborhood," Luna said.

The driver didn't want to tell CBS4 where his car was serviced and also declined an interview.