Truck slams into Edmonton dental office after leaving bar, driver charged
An 18-year-old man is facing impaired driving charges after leaving a trail of destruction that culminated with his truck slamming into a southwest Edmonton dental office Friday evening.
Dr. Finley Mah, a dentist at Riverbend Family Dental Care, is still cleaning up broken glass at his clinic after witnessing the entire ordeal.
Mah says he was at The Bend Lounge in a shopping centre near his clinic at 147th Street and 40th Avenue at around 9:30 p.m. when he heard a commotion outside in the parking lot.
"People are running, people are yelling," he said.
Staff told him three young men had a few drinks at the bar before getting into a white Ford F-150 in the parking lot. The driver of the truck reversed and hit a vehicle, then sped forward, hitting two vehicles in the parking lot.
The truck then accelerated eastbound from the parking lot onto soutbound Terwillegar Drive. At a stop sign, it collided with another vehicle driving southbound. The truck spun around across the grass median back into the shopping centre, where it finally collided with the dental office.
"[The truck] rams into my office," Mah said. "What I saw was the truck had already hit my office, one guy already on the ground."
Thousands in damage, no injuries
The front windows of the dental office were smashed, and pieces of wood dangled from the side of the building.
Edmonton Police Service Staff Sgt. Kevin Clague said the driver of the F-150 has been charged with impaired driving and dangerous driving.
It's estimated the value of the damage to the vehicles involved is $10,000. The damage to the dental office is also estimated to be $10,000.
"It's lucky no one was hurt," Clague said.
Mah said he ended his night cleaning up glass at his dental office.
He's spending Saturday at his niece's wedding, and says he's glad the family will have something to talk about.
"My philosophy is, it's life. Property can be fixed," Mah said.
"He caused quite a bit of destruction in the parking lot."
