[chuecaloversvv]

It wasn't me.

Talk about a drive-thru.

Lambton OPP are investigating after a pickup truck rammed through the wall of a Tim Hortons in Corunna twice today, sending customers running out the back door — a crash that could have been “much worse,” the restaurant’s manager said.

The chaos and crashing happened around 6:20 a.m., when the driver of the truck — a Tim Hortons regular — began pulling into a parking spot against the wall.

Instead, the 2000 Ford F150 smashed into a 2007 Mazda, pushing it over a curb, then raced onward into the wall of the restaurant.

The driver then reversed the pickup, which backed across the lot into a 2007 Toyota.

Then the man changed gears again, racing forward until it smashed again through the Tim Hortons.

“It felt like we were in a movie,” said manager Sue Adairs, who was serving customers at the counter when she saw the nose of the pickup burst through the wall.

“I saw the truck come right through the store and we ran out through the back door. I took the customers through (the kitchen),” she said.

The truck rammed into tables located against the wall but no one was sitting there, she said.

“It could have been so much worse,” said Adairs, noting there were people inside, not far from where the front of the truck smashed through.

The restaurant wasn’t busy at the time, but in another hour could have been full of people, she said.

This morning, police said a mechanical malfunction caused the 2000 Ford F150 to accelerate out of the driver’s control.

But later in the day, Lambton OPP Const. John Reurink said police would be investigating to see whether there were other factors involved or charges would be laid.

“Just the manner of driving: forward, reverse, forward again. It’s not normal,” he said. “It was premature of us to determine it was a throttle sticking.”

He said investigators will probe further to find out if the crash was caused intentionally or if medical factors played a part.

“Or whether (the driver) ultimately overeacted over the collision,” he said.

When a gas pedal sticks, or a vehicle accelerates on its own, the driver should shut off the vehicle or throw it into neutral, Reurink said.

“We could have had serious injuries or even a death,” Reurink said.

The 49-year-old driver of the truck was “shaken” but otherwise OK, he said.

The drive-thru remained open “and busy," Adairs said. The restaurant part was closed while builders worked on the hole in the wall.