SUV hits Clayton eatery, hurts 3
By William C. Lhotka and Patrick M. O’Connell
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/18/2007


Sergio Lopez

CLAYTON • A driver whose SUV plowed into a crowd of lunchtime diners outside a restaurant in downtown Clayton on Tuesday told police he had been blinded by a bright light.

Police Capt. Steve Grenier said the driver of a white Ford Expedition lost control while making a left turn from westbound Maryland Avenue onto southbound Central Avenue just before noon.

The vehicle crossed the sidewalk into a sunken outdoor dining area at Il Vicino, pinning two diners beneath it and injuring a third, said Clayton Fire Chief Mark Thorp.

All three victims were taken by ambulance to St. John’s Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur. James Travaglini, 63, and Ann Stockton, 62, were treated and released, police said. Kathryn Travaglini, 54, remained hospitalized Tuesday evening.

Kevin Freeman, an Il Vicino server, said he heard a loud crash. When he looked up, he saw the SUV had crashed into a table of three people eating just outside the restaurant.

Almost immediately, a police officer with his weapon drawn was yelling at the SUV’s driver to put his hands up, he said.

"I ran behind the counter so I wouldn’t get shot," he said.

The driver, Sergio Lopez, 23, who has a post office post address in Collinsville, is an illegal immigrant from Mexico, Clayton Police Chief Thomas Byrne said. He suffered minor injuries in the crash.

Lopez, who spoke little English and did not have a valid U.S. driver’s license, told police he was blinded by a bright light as he attempted to turn.

He was cited for operating a vehicle with no license, having no proof of insurance and making an improper turn. Immigration Customs Enforcement has issued a federal detainment order on Lopez and he was to be held at the St. Louis County Justice Center upon his release from the hospital. Lopez was driving his own SUV, Byrne said.

Thorp said the restaurant, on the first floor of a five-story brick building, was evacuated after the crash. The front of the SUV came to rest against its north side.

Thorp said firefighters used rescue air bags and a winch to lift the vehicle off the victims and pull it away from them.

Il Vicino was closed Tuesday night as workers repaired the damage but the restaurant was expected to re-open for regular business at 11 a.m. today.

Jeremy Kohler of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

blhotka@post-dispatch.com | 314-615-3283

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