Story Photos
 Photo Jason Vest Margaret Morgan of Kelso drove this car into the crowded Sizzler restaurant in Longview on Sunday afternoon, killing a man who was eating lunch. |
Wreck kills Sizzler patron
Monday, December 8, 2003 8:37 AM PST
By Venice Buhain
Printable version
E-mail this articleA car barreled into the atrium of the Sizzler Restaurant on Ocean Beach Highway Sunday during the busy lunch hour, killing a retired Baptist minister from Clatskanie and injuring his wife.
The deceased was Ralph Bunting, 81, who returned to Clatskanie about 20 years ago after a career serving different congregations throughout Washington. His wife, Janice Bunting, was taken to St. John Medical Center, where she was listed in satisfactory condition, a nursing supervisor said. She is about 79, police said.
The driver of the car, 74-year-old Margaret Morgan of Kelso, was not injured, police said. No one else was taken to the hospital, he said.
The restaurant was full when Morgan's late-model beige Mercury Sable suddenly accelerated from the parking lot into the atrium just before 1 p.m., police and witnesses said.
Customers at the Sizzler said an "explosion" stunned the restaurant.
"I thought a bomb went off," said Donald Wells of Kelso, who was eating his steak near where the car struck. "It was so loud."
"There was all that crash and all that glass," said D.L. Tomlinson, of Kelso, who sat across the aisle from the Buntings.
"Scared the heck out of everyone there," Tomlinson said.
Bunting was sitting with his back to the window in the spot where Morgan's car came through, said Longview Police Sgt. Vic Tiehen.
Tomlinson said someone attempted CPR on Bunting and it looked as if two people from another table were bleeding from glass cuts.
Jerod Moore and Holly Graham of Cathlamet said they were in the parking lot when they saw Morgan back up, tap another car with her rear bumper, and then drive forward toward the restaurant. Moore said it looked as if she was waiting for their parking space.
She was turning left, when the car accelerated, they said.
"She went right into the window," Graham said.
Sarita Wines of Kelso, who was standing in the entrance waiting to join her family inside, said she watched Morgan making a left turn in front of the restaurant when the car suddenly sped up.
"It's like her foot slipped off the brake," Wines said. "It made a sound like she revved it."
Wines said the restaurant staff handled the situation well, immediately running to the injured with towels to help with cuts from the glass. Her husband, Charlie Wines, who was already at a table, said some patrons were upset but no one panicked.
Restaurant managers, who declined comment, closed the restaurant for the rest of the day, and allowed the customers to leave without paying, patrons said.
Shortly after the accident, members of Morgan's church arrived after hearing about the crash from fellow church members who were at the restaurant. Her family, who arrived at the scene shortly after the crash, said they were too shaken to comment.
Throughout the early afternoon, lunch patrons kept arriving, some not noticing the Sable halfway into the building until they saw the police tape.
"A guy has lunch, then he dies," said one man, shaking his head.
Tiehen said Longview police will not cite Morgan because the wreck was on private property, but that the county prosecutor will review the case to see whether she faces any felony charges. He said Morgan did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Bunting, a retired Baptist minister, often filled in for other ministers at local congregations, said longtime friend Morris Lillich of Clatskanie.
"The other day he was filling in, and one of the things he did was walk to the piano and play one of those happy church songs," Lillich said. "He was an outgoing man. Big voice, big laugh, nice guy."
Lillich said Bunting graduated from Clatskanie High School in 1940, after moving from Winlock.
Pam Sellix, owner of Humps Restaurant in Clatskanie, said Bunting also performed singalong favorites at the city's annual Heritage Days festival and at her restaurant.
"He 's just a good friend to everyone," she said.
Mark Schmutz, pastor at Northlake Baptist Church, said many people at his church knew the Buntings from when Ralph Bunting was an interim pastor a few years ago.
"If there was ever a person we were sure about, it was him," Schmutz said. "Because of his faith in Jesus, we know he's safe."
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