10 hurt when car slams into Starbucks' patio
Unlikely charges will be filed, police say
EL MONTE, California (AP) -- An 85-year-old man who drove a car onto a patio at a Starbucks coffee shop and injured 10 people, two of them critically, isn't likely to face charges, police said Saturday.
"It sounds like it's just a simple mistake by an elderly man," said police Sgt. Richard Williams, adding he "seriously doubts" charges will be filed.
Police said Ted Kawashima was trying to park his white Toyota Camry in a handicapped spot at about 9 p.m. Friday when the car surged forward. The vehicle plowed across the patio and back into the parking lot, coming to rest on top of another car in this suburb 14 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
Kawashima, who speaks only Japanese, told police through a translator that he was trying to step on the brake pedal when he hit the accelerator by mistake.
The two critically injured people were hospitalized at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. As for Kawashima, "With any luck, he'll be back on the streets and killing again by tonight," Williams said.