VIDEO: Elderly Driver, 90, Slams Into Los Gatos Coffee Shop at Estimated 90 MPH in Thanksgiving Night Crash; Surveillance Video Shows Car Blasting Through Red Light

A 90-year-old California man is lucky to be alive after plowing his Volvo into a Los Gatos coffee shop at what witnesses estimate was 70 to 100 miles per hour on Thanksgiving night.

The terrifying crash happened shortly after 9 p.m. at Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company in downtown Los Gatos, California. Surveillance footage captured the vehicle barreling down a 20 mph zone, blowing through a red light, and smashing straight into the storefront with explosive force.

The car narrowly missed another vehicle that crossed the intersection seconds before impact, avoiding what could have been a multi-fatality disaster. A man on the sidewalk froze in shock before immediately reaching for his phone, presumably to call 911.

 

Storefront Left in Ruins

Additional clips shared on social media show the Volvo being dragged out of the shattered building as debris — broken glass, splintered wood, mangled metal, and bricks — covered the sidewalk.

According to the Los Gatos–Monte Sereno Police Department, the elderly driver was the only person in the car and the coffee shop was closed at the time of the crash. He was transported to the hospital in “serious but stable condition.” Police say alcohol may have been a factor, though the investigation is ongoing.

The Santa Clara County Fire Department had to extricate the man from his vehicle.

Coffee Shop Owners Devastated: “Nothing Is Salvageable”

Owners Teri Hope and Dylan Phillips say the interior of the shop was entirely destroyed.

“Everything within the café side was destroyed. Our coffee roaster took damage,”
Phillips told CBS. “There’s probably nothing salvageable… Plumbing broke, leaking into our basement. Lots of our inventory destroyed.”

He estimated the vehicle ended up 20 to 30 feet inside the building, saying he was shocked it didn't come out the other side.

Phillips also noted the horrifying reality: if the crash happened during business hours, dozens of people would have been inside.

“We would’ve had 50 customers in here listening to live music… It would’ve been a major disaster,” he said.

Community in Shock

Locals who witnessed the aftermath told CBS they believed the vehicle was traveling between 70 and 100 mph — in a downtown corridor with a posted speed limit of 20 mph.

Owner Teri Hope told ABC7:

“I was here within minutes. I was just beside myself… devastated by the destruction.”

Police say they are examining all possible factors, including speed, impairment, and potential medical issues that may have contributed to the crash. No further details about the driver have been released.