1 killed, 6 injured when SUV runs into crowd outside O.C. restaurant

A woman was killed and six other people were injured Friday evening when an SUV hit a line of people waiting outside a Buena Park restaurant, authorities said.

The accident occurred at low-speed in front of Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour on Beach Boulevard, according to Cpl. Andy Luong of the Buena Park Police.

Television news footage showed a small, silver SUV with its front end pressed against a bench. It appeared as if the vehicle had entered a handicapped parking space, but kept going and toppled a fence before coming to rest on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.

“It looked like the guy put his foot on the gas pedal instead of the brake,” Daniel Long, who was eating with his family inside the restaurant, told KCAL-TV Channel 9, according to the Associated Press. “There were three people sitting on that bench — he just went straight into them and crushed them up against the window.”

Cpl. Luong described the driver as an elderly man, accompanied by an elderly female passenger.

“Right now he is detained and cooperating with investigators,” he said, adding that he had not been immediately cited. Neither the driver nor his passenger were injured.

A 73-year-old woman was taken by ambulance to UCI Medical Center, where she died.

At least four other people were transported to other hospitals, authorities said. Two survivors -- a woman and a girl -- were in critical condition as of 9 p.m., Luong said.

The victims also included a man and his son. No names have been released.

The emergency call came at 6:02 p.m., said Capt. Ben Gonzales of the Orange County Fire Authority.

A few hours later, the SUV and a section of the parking lot and restaurant entrance were still cordoned off with police tape. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

alan.zarembo@latimes.com
Twitter: @alanzarembo