A Sylmar woman watched by scores of lunchtime onlookers as she turned and stretched, complying with orders of a sobriety test after allegedly driving her car through the plate glass window of a popular Newhall pizzeria, was arrested shortly after the crash on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury.
The man hit by the wayward car as he ate his lunch Friday inside Ameci Pizza Kitchen, who was showered with broken glass and injured, is expected to recover.
“He had minor injuries,” said a staffer at the pizzeria Monday.
The victim, described as a loyal and regular customer, is 69 years old and is reportedly recovering.
The unemployed woman arrested in connection with the crash, meanwhile, now faces a felony charge.
She was identified by arresting deputies as Yvonne Tejada, 40, of Sylmar.
Tejada was taken into custody and booked at the SCV Sheriff’s Station at 4 p.m. with bail set at $100,000.
She was released from custody, however, on bond about 12 hours after her arrest, according to arrest records maintained by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Inmate Information Bureau.
The crash happened shortly after 12:30 p.m. Friday at the restaurant on Lyons Avenue at Wiley Canyon Road.
The wayward car — a black Ford Fusion — pulled immediately from the damaged restaurant covered in broken glass.
The car narrowly missed three friends who had just sat down to eat.
The car, with two flat front tires and a broken windshield, was taken from the parking lot on a flatbed tow truck.
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