Gordon’s Stoplight Drive-In on Bailey Road in Crystal City was full of employees and customers May 20 when an SUV crashed through the large windows in the front of the building, stopping just shy of the stools where diners sat, owner Curt Grass said.
He said he was grateful none of the customers or employees were injured.
“I think the Lord was looking over us,” Grass said.
According to a Crystal City Police report about the accident, it occurred just before 4:30 p.m. when a 16-year-old Festus teen was driving a 2013 Ford Escape northbound on Truman Boulevard near the intersection with Bailey Road “during a blinking yellow arrow” when her vehicle struck the side of a southbound 2017 Nissan Pathfinder driven by Nicole Furtado, 36, of Festus. The force of the collision caused the Pathfinder “to strike a traffic light pole and then (Gordon’s Stoplight),” the report said.
Both vehicles were significantly damaged and towed from the scene, Capt. Mike Pruneau said.
He said both drivers were evaluated at the scene by emergency medical personnel and refused to be transported to areas hospitals.
Both drivers were wearing seat belts, Pruneau said.
He said the 16-year-old’s name was not released because she is a juvenile.
Gordon’s Stoplight was closed for business from the time of the accident until it was partially reopened this morning, May 22, Grass said.
“We were closed Saturday night, then Sunday all day for the cleaning,” he said. “We opened today after we sanitized the entire building.
“We are open for takeout and Door Dash. We hope to open the inside in a day or two.”
Grass said the diner has endured closures due to flooding over the years, but it had not been closed because of a vehicle striking the building.
“Never before since it opened in 1948,” he said.