Family shares story of being struck by car while dining inside Blatz B-stro

"Don't take a second of a day for granted."

Annie Lepp says that is one thing she learned after being involved in a crash earlier this month in Steinbach. 

On April 6th, Steinbach emergency crews were called to Blatz B-stro after a car drove through the front window there. Initially, Steinbach RCMP Constable Dennis Redikop indicated the driver thought she had hit the brakes, but in fact, punched the gas pedal. 

Police have since confirmed that alcohol was a suspected factor. The motorist, a 66-year-old woman from Steinbach, blew a warning on the roadside screening device. She received an automatic suspension under the Highway Traffic Act and because of previous impaired charges, she received a 15-day license suspension. The woman was also charged for careless driving under the Highway Traffic Act, which includes a serious offence notice, meaning her license will be reviewed by Manitoba Public Insurance.

Annie Lepp was dining at Blatz B-stro with her family at the time of the crash. Lepp says they were right beside the window. She does not recall hearing the glass shatter but remembers seeing shards and the next thing, her daughters are using napkins to dab blood off her arm.

"I got lightheaded, so then I went and sat down," she says. "Next thing you knew I had the ambulance crew there."

Lepp was taken to hospital where she received stitches for her cuts. After visiting her chiropractor, Lepp was also told that she injured her rotator cuff and shoulder. 

"I should have gotten more injured than what I was," adds Lepp. "It could have been fatal."

Lepp says her ear was ringing for two days after the crash.

"The glass, it was so deafening," recalls Lepp's daughter Tammy Martens.

"I heard a revving noise and then the bang, shattering glass," adds daughter Candace Schmid. "Like Tammy said, it was deafening. I didn't know what was going on, there were people screaming."

Martens says she became disoriented after hearing and witnessing the crash. Then she started looking for the rest of her family and when she looked behind her, there was a white car in the restaurant. Martens says she soon realized that she had injured her foot in the crash, but says her main focus quickly became her mom, after seeing blood on her arm. 

"When I left, the first thing that hit me was, I could have lost my mom," says Martens. "I start bawling in my car and it's like, wow, I could have lost my mom."

Martens says the whole ordeal was very traumatizing but says someone was definitely watching over her family. 

Lepp says five minutes prior to the crash, a group of guys was sitting at a table exactly where the car landed. Had they still been there, she says that too could have made the outcome much worse. 

"Thank God," says Lepp. "Because it could have been worse, really, really bad."

Lepp says a special thank-you to all of the emergency personnel that showed up that day, including paramedics, RCMP officers and firefighters. 

"I don't think we give them enough thanks," adds Lepp. "Very thankful for each one of them."

With files from Corny Rempel