EL MONTE, Calif. – An elderly man drove a car onto a patio at a Starbucks on Friday night, injuring 10 people, two of them critically, authorities said.
The driver, who was believed to be 80 or 81, was trying to park in a handicapped spot just after 9 p.m. when the car surged forward and hit the customers sitting on the patio, said police Lt. William Fetner.
The car plowed through the patio and back into the parking lot, coming to rest on top of another car, Fetner said.
A man and a woman were critically injured, said Capt. Mark Savage of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The other eight victims had moderate injuries, he said.
Police struggled to get details from the driver, who spoke only Japanese. He was not injured.
The identities of the driver and the victims were not released.
El Monte is 14 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.
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