Driver cited over Joliet McDonald’s crash that injured customer

One person was injured after a car crashed Tuesday evening into a Joliet McDonald’s, police said.

Esther Baker-Williams, 70, of Shorewood, was issued a citation for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident after the crash that was reported at 4:14 p.m. Tuesday at McDonald’s, 4280 W. Jefferson St., Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English said.

A 31-year-old man inside the restaurant at the time suffered a minor injury when he was struck in the leg by a table and shattered glass, English said.

The man was evaluated by paramedics at the scene but was not taken to a hospital, English said.

A preliminary investigation of the crash led officers to determine that it began when Baker-Williams' Nissan Versa collided into the rear of a GMC Acadia on West Jefferson Street, English said.

The collision caused Baker-Williams' vehicle to lose control and veer to the left across the lanes of West Jefferson Street, then into the parking lot of McDonald’s and through the north side of the restaurant, English said.

Baker-Williams' vehicle came to a “rest inside of the dining room,” English said.

Baker-Williams was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. She reported suffering from a “possible medical event” before the crash, English said.

The occupants of the GMC Acadia were not injured, he said.

On Wednesday, the dining room of McDonald’s was closed but the drive-thru was open.

The Will County Health Department was notified of the incident by the Joliet Fire Department, according to a statement from Sean Conners, Will County Health Department’s environmental health director.

A sanitarian visited the restaurant, Conners said.

“After an inspection, some food items were discarded but the food preparation area was not affected by the crash. Our sanitarian returned to the site again [Wednesday] to make sure all clean-up was completed to our satisfaction and gave them permission to open,” Conners said.