A vehicle left the highway after colliding with a van before colliding with another vehicle in the Riverside Starbucks drive-thru. (Jesse Day - Western News)

A vehicle left the highway after colliding with a van before colliding with another vehicle in the Riverside Starbucks drive-thru. (Jesse Day - Western News)

Three vehicle collision closes Penticton’s Riverside Starbucks drive-thru

Car was 'spinning in reverse with full throttle on' before colliding with two other vehicles

  • Oct. 15, 2020 12:00 a.m.

First responders are on scene of a multi-vehicle collision at the Riverside Plaza Starbucks.

The drive-thru of the Starbucks is currently blocked off by two of the vehicles involved.

One vehicle heading north along Highway 97 towards Summerland spun it’s tires before colliding with a van on the highway, the vehicle would continue to cross the grass field before colliding with a vehicle in the Starbucks drive-thru, according to witness reports.

Just before the vehicle left the road, it collided with a van in the intersection of Eckhardt Ave. W and Westminster Ave. W.

After the first collision, the van’s driver, Aaron Paisarowicz pulled over and turned back to see what had happened to the other driver.

“I just pulled over and looked back, and I could see her car was just spinning in reverse with full throttle on. It was clear, people were trying to get out of her way, that she had no control over her vehicle, her airbags were deployed, and she went backwards straight across here,” said Paisarowicz.

The driver of the rogue vehicle and the driver of the vehicle in the Starbucks drive-thru have been taken to hospital, according to Penticton Fire Dept. acting captain Curtis Gibbons. The extent of their injuries are unknown but are believed to be non life-threatening. No one else was injured in the incident.

“We were sitting in the drive-thru getting breakfast and then this car came through the flowers and hit us and almost threw my mom straight through the thing,” said Karli Mulligan who was in the backseat of the SUV that was waiting in the Starbucks drive-thru.

Traffic is still flowing in the area.

The collision was reported at 12:45 p.m.

To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.

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