Elderly man stacks brand new VW into Indian restaurant, narrowly avoiding pedestrian

THE OWNER of a brand-new Volkswagen ploughed it into the front of an Indian restaurant in Heathmont this afternoon, narrowly avoiding a pedestrian.

No-one was inside the restaurant when the VW smashed into it.

The owner of a brand-new Volkswagen ploughed it into the front of an Indian restaurant in Heathmont this afternoon, narrowly avoiding a pedestrian.

The 82-year-old male motorist had just picked up his Volkswagen Tiguan, which only had 30km on the clock, from a dealer and was driving in a service lane opposite Canterbury Rd at 2pm when he allegedly hit the accelerator instead of the brake.

Knox highway patrol Senior Constable Sue Franklin said no-one was injured, or inside Ustav Indian Restaurant, at the time of the crash, but witnesses said a woman standing on the footpath at the next door Food Coffee Friends cafe was almost hit.

The driver had reportedly just picked up his new car, a grey Volkswagen Tiguan, from a dealership, she said.

“It was brand new, it had 30km on it, he had literally just picked it up,” Sen-Constable Franklin said.

“He had picked up his E-tag and had just gone to post a letter.”

Three Metropolitan Fire Brigade units and one State Emergency Service unit attended the scene.

Traffic was reduced to two lanes on Canterbury Rd and the service road was blocked, but has since reopened.

Sen-Constable Franklin said the driver was treated by paramedics at the scene.

“It was very lucky escape, if anyone had been sitting in the front of the restaurant or walking past, it could have been quite tragic,” she said.

Maroondah Council structural engineers have attended the scene and police are continuing their investigations.

No details were released on the state of the VW.