Driver hits parked car, crashes into side of small town's Lazy Bear restaurant

A driver hit a parked car then slammed into the side of a small-town restaurant Sunday morning — with authorities blaming the crash on mechanical problems.

A 40-year-old Twin Cities woman was behind the wheel of the Ford Expedition that crashed in Barnum, Minnesota, around 10:45 a.m. Sunday, the Carlton County Sheriff's Office said. She had just turned off of County Road 6, into a parking lot shared by the Minit Mart Gas Station and the Lazy Bear Restaurant.

That's when she suddenly began to have trouble with both the accelerator and her steering controls, according to the sheriff's office.

She then hit a parked vehicle with people inside of it — with the impact pushing it into a second, empty parked vehicle. The Expedition then crashed into the corner of the Lazy Bear restaurant, the sheriff's office said.

Neither the driver nor any of the occupants of either vehicle were injured. No restaurant patrons were hurt, either. The crash damaged the building and the two parked vehicles, however. 

The sheriff's office said the aforementioned "mechanical issues" appear to be to blame, adding authorities aren't considering criminal charges in the crash.

Note: The details provided in this story are based on the police’s latest version of events, and may be subject to change.