SUV crashes into Waterford Subway, OWI charge pending: police

WATERFORD, Wis. - A 75-year-old Waterford man will be charged with operating while intoxicated, police said, after crashing his SUV into a Subway on Tuesday morning, May 2.

It happened around 10:45 a.m. near Milwaukee Avenue and Fox Lane. Surveillance shows the man put his SUV in reverse and backed out of the store, only to put it back into drive and ram into the building again.

Police said the man could not explain why he backed out of the Subway and then drove back in. He later admitted to officers that he'd consumed alcohol just before the crash and said his brakes weren't working.

Everyone who was there said they it was unbelievable that no one was hurt.

Terria Rudzinski was working next door.

"The sound was like a freight train coming through so, it took me a minute," she said. "The building vibrated and just kind of rattled."

She ran over and called 911.

Gautambhai Patel manages the restaurant and was behind the counter when the SUV came through a second time.

"He's coming again," said Patel. "Then I'm scared."

He said the crash left him shaken.

"No hurt, but I'm scared too much," said Patel.

He recorded video of the driver and said he had never seen the man before.

Upset over the damage, the owners said they were grateful it wasn't worse.

"To me, it was just a miracle that nobody was hurt," said Rudzinski.

The owner said the restaurant was just remodeled in December 2022, and he said the crash caused at least $50,000 in damage. 

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Police said the 75-year-old was taken to a Burlington hospital for evaluation and a legal blood draw.

In addition to OWI, police said the man would be charged with recklessly endangering safety.