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Car Crashes Into Restaurant Patio, Narrowly Missing Patrons
5 Aug
Summary
- A car crashed through a restaurant patio into the building on August 2nd.
- The driver, suspected of impairment, faces charges for refusing a test.
- No one was injured, a near-miss attributed to a patron's phone call and empty propane tanks.
A car plowed through the patio of The Flats Eatery and Drink and into the building on the evening of August 2nd. Surveillance video captured the vehicle narrowly missing another car before crashing into the restaurant. Bartender Damian Grujic described hearing the impact and seeing smoke and glass. He noted that a customer had stepped away for a phone call moments before the crash, and luckily, several propane tanks on the patio were empty.
The 44-year-old driver was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police observed signs of impairment and an open alcohol bottle in the vehicle. The driver has been charged with refusing an impairment test. Restaurant manager Sam Arora reported significant damage to the patio door, windows, furniture, and a heat lamp. The restaurant remains open, but the patio is closed for repairs.
This incident follows another impaired driving crash into a building in Saskatoon less than a week prior. Data from Saskatchewan RCMP indicates a concerning trend, with 113 serious and fatal collisions involving impairment reported in 2025, the highest in a decade, alongside thousands of license suspensions and criminal charges for impaired driving.
