Members of the Redmond Ridge community are reaching out to support Himitsu Teriyaki owner Sue Lee and her family in the form of cash donations and encouragement following an accident at their eatery last week.
After driving out of a Chevron gas station/car wash, witnesses said a 70-year-old woman, Jo Trager, lost control of her car, striking a post indicator valve in the parking lot and ramming into the front of the Redmond Ridge restaurant at 22350 Northeast Marketplace Drive on Jan. 22.
When the accident occurred at about 9:36 a.m., no one was inside Himitsu Teriyaki or near the front and the woman was uninjured, according to Bryan Loney, acting lieutenant for Redmond Fire Station 18, which responded to the call.
“Witnesses said the car was accelerating around the corner,” Loney said of the area near 224th Avenue Northeast and up the street from Northeast Novelty Hill Road. “She took out the front glass door, went through the dining area and the car landed in the kitchen area (about 30 feet into the restaurant).”
At the Reporter‘s deadline, the restaurant has not yet reopened.
Lee’s insurance will cover the multitude of repairs, according to her friend and fellow Redmond Ridge resident Christine Musser, who has reached out to start a fundraising site for the Lee family at http://gogetfunding.com/project/help-the-lee-family-during-himitsu-reconstruction.
“It’s more of a thank you from the community to help ease this time for you,” said Musser, who met Lee seven years ago when their children attended kindergarten together. “She’s always helping out people. (For example) If someone was not able to afford something to eat, she’d give them some food.”
A ‘SCARY’ SCENE
Lee arrived while Loney and his crew were on the scene, the driver of the Honda was checked by an aid unit and the car was towed. Members of the King County Sheriff’s Office arrived along with two fire engines, a ladder truck, an aid unit and a battalion chief’s vehicle, Loney said.
David Isaac, club manager of the nearby Redmond Athletic Club, was standing at the front desk and saw the accident unfold.
“It was pretty scary stuff. It was kind of unreal, you didn’t expect it to happen,” he said, shaking his head on Jan. 23. “Coming out of the car wash with a little bit more speed than normal, it’s a little bit alarming. You hear a few screeches, but nothing that made people worry. But then she hit this main road here and she must have had her foot all the way down on the pedal, because she picked up quite a bit of speed real fast — airborne, right through the restaurant.”
Isaac added that luckily business hadn’t picked up around the area yet and shops were just starting to open.
There was more luck involved since Lee is typically inside the restaurant at that hour, but slept in, Isaac said.
“She just missed it because of that. We were just happy that that happened,” he added about Lee not being present. “How many times does sleeping in help you out?”
According to King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. DB Gates, the woman was not issued an infraction on Jan. 22, but that may still happen.
‘FULFILLING’ TO HELP OUT
Jen Boon, president of the Redmond Ridge Homeowner’s Association (HOA), has banded together with other volunteers to collect the cash donations for the Lee family (the fundraising is separate from the HOA). Boon also placed posters on Northeast Marketplace Drive storefront windows so supporters could write encouraging messages to and about the Lee family.
“Sue goes far above and beyond simply providing delicious food in a welcoming environment. She recognizes customers calling in by their voice, remembers our names, remembers our favorite orders, asks about our kids and our families and has taken the time to get to know us as a community of neighbors and friends. We go to Himitsu to eat, but also to say ‘hi’ to Sue,” Boon said. “It’s fulfilling to bless them with a donation and a kind word.”
Boon noted that many residents inquired about how they could help the Lee family after they heard about the accident.
“The potential for the wreck to have had tragic results really resonated with a lot of people who commented that they had just been there the night before for dinner, or that business had really picked up for Sue, and the restaurant had been very full last time they were there, so an accident at lunch could have been catastrophic,” Boon said.
When she told Lee that people wanted to offer donations to her family, Boon said Lee was overwhelmed at the outpouring of community support.
Musser is asking people to send stories about the Lee family and photos of them and the restaurant for the fundraising site to merrikindesigns@hotmail.com.
Lee was unavailable for comment at press time.
