Cafe diner hit by truck dies; police look for answers

A 68-year-old man died after a pickup truck veered into a group dining outside at a south Minneapolis cafe.

By David Chanen and Susan Feyder, Star Tribune

Last update: August 21, 2007 - 12:49 AM

Somber employees and confused customers briefly mingled outside the Clicquot Club Cafe in south Minneapolis on Monday afternoon. A brief note on the cafe's front door explained why:

Due to the tragic circumstances, and out of respect for those injured, we will be closed until further notice.

Jerome Perkins, 68, of Minneapolis, was among the diners eating outside the cafe about 7:15 p.m. Friday when a woman drove her truck onto the sidewalk. Two days later, he died at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. Another dozen people were injured, but their injuries were not life-threatening.

Police continue to investigation why the 49-year-old Minneapolis driver lost control of her truck.

Investigators don't know if she had a medical problem. They are waiting for toxicology tests to determine whether she was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but police said there was no indication of that.

She was driving about 30 miles per hour, and witnesses said she didn't try to stop, said police Lt. Amelia Huffman.

The cafe opened at 2929 E. 25th St., in 2006.

Karl Pearson-Cater, his wife, Cindy, and their sons Noah, 5, and Sam, 2, had just finished their meal at a table at the far end of the sidewalk patio from where the accident occurred. The family had biked from its home a few blocks away from the restaurant, a regular dining destination. Noah recently started riding his bike without training wheels, and the family was planning to go on a ride after dinner, Pearson-Cater said.

"We were just getting ready to leave. I remember telling Noah if he wasn't going to eat his pickle I was going to," Pearson-Cater said. "Then I heard something. I looked up and saw this truck, and it was like my mind couldn't process what was happening."

The force of the truck plowing into the tables pushed him backward into a bike rack. When he got up he saw the truck stopped with Noah under the bumper.

"He was hysterical but wasn't seriously hurt. I was actually glad to hear him crying," his father said. He lifted the boy out, then looked around for his wife. She also had been pushed into the bike rack, but was up and holding their 2-year-old. Both were unharmed.

A man reached inside the truck and grabbed the keys out of the ignition, Pearson-Cater said. The driver was conscious, but motionless.

Pearson-Cater said he picked up a female customer who was caught between the truck and the restaurant building, and customers and restaurant employees pushed the truck off one injured patron. That's about when police and ambulances arrived, he said.

"Noah looked at me and said, 'Daddy, you're bleeding.' I saw that my knee was pretty scraped up. Noah's jaw was starting to swell up." The family was taken to HCMC, where everyone was treated for minor injuries and released.

Pearson-Cater said he thinks it could take a while for his children to recover from what they saw. Even so, "we consider ourselves lucky," he said.

dchanen@startribune.com • 612-673-4465 sfeyder@startribune.com • 612-673-1723

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