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Street Sweeper Crashes Into Famous Dave's Restaurant


DENVER (AP/CBS4) - A street sweeper plowed into a restaurant in Denver after the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle.

The street sweeper crashed through the front wall of Famous Dave's barbecue restaurant at 36th and Quebec just after 1 a.m. Monday. The 12,000-pound machine stopped just short of the restaurant's bar.

Video from Copter4 showed the vehicle sitting half inside and half outside the restaurant before crews removed it. Pieces of wood and insulation were strewn everywhere inside.

street sweeper crashes into famous daves restaurant
Copter4 captured this image of the accident just after daybreak on Monday. (credit: CBS)

The driver was taken to the hospital to be treated. Investigators suspect the driver may have suffered from a medical condition before the crash.

The wreck caused a lot of damage in the bar area, but engineers don't believe there is any structural damage.

"You know, coming from the outside it didn't really look that bad. You couldn't tell how long of a vehicle it was because it was still sticking out. Once I got inside, it was just shocking the amount of damage that was done. This entire bar top was actually flipped up against the wall," said Famous Dave's Area Director Mike Higgins.

The restaurant is expected to be closed for at least a day. Restaurant managers hope to reopen the dining room and resume carry out service within the next couple of days.

The business doesn't yet have an estimate on how much it will cost to fix the damage.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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