Old Pasadena Cheesecake Factory Restaurant Struck by Second Mishap in Two Days

 

Only 46 hours after after a man hurled a pyrotechnic device into a crowd of diners in The Cheesecake Factory in Old Pasadena, the popular eatery was struck by a second, unrelated mishap when a careening car smashed into its exterior and nearly struck a family at a window table.

The car was attempting to turn south onto Fair Oaks Avenue from Colorado Boulevard failed to complete the turn successfully and crashed into a low wall and window of restaurant at 3:54 p.m. Saturday, Pasadena Police Lt. John Mercado said.

There were no serious injuries or arrests.

“Minor injuries from glass in window but nobody transported [to a hospital],” said Pasadena Fire Dept. spokesperson Lisa Derderian. “Could have been a lot worse.”

Police do not suspect alcohol or drugs were involved, Mercado said.

An eyewitness tells Pasadena Now the car which crashed had been attempting to turn rapidly to beat the pedestrians after the light turned green but did not see an oncoming car, lightly bumped it and then stopped.

After a pause, the car which crashed suddenly rapidly accelerated straight into the Cheesecake Factory, the witness said. The plate glass window was damaged, but a family seated at the window table escaped unharmed. A newsstand was run over as well.

In an earlier incident on Thursday, an unknown man open the restaurant’s main doors and threw a pyrotechnic device into the restaurant where it rolled under an unoccupied table and exploded, causing panic but no injuries.

The suspect in that incidents remains at large.