You can't Keep Dick's Down for long :)

Man charged with DUI in crash that closed Dick's
Suspect, a former UW professor, has pleaded not guilty

By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF
photo
Joshua Trujillo / seattlepi.com
Paperwork is filled out after a Ford Explorer crashed into Dick's Drive-In in Lake City. Colin John Sandwith, 73, has been charged with DUI and pleaded not guilty in Seattle Municipal Court.

A man who police say crashed into the Lake City Dick's Drive-In, forcing the restaurant to close for more than a week while workers repair the building, has been charged with DUI.

That man, Colin John Sandwith, has pleaded not guilty.

Staff of Dick's Drive-Ins announced Tuesday they hope to reopen the restaurant, at 12325 30th Ave. N.E., on April 5.

Police say on March 25 about 9:20 p.m., Sandwith crashed his dark blue SUV into the front of the restaurant, damaging the metal counter, window and front tiled wall.

He got out and said he hit the accelerator instead of the brake, according to investigators.

Sandwith, 73, is affiliated with the University of Washington and the applied physics lab. He retired in January 2008 after 41 years at the university and was elected by colleagues to the rank of research associate professor emeritus.

He did not return a call or e-mail for comment Tuesday.

A witness told police he was standing in line when he turned and saw the vehicle driving toward him. The man jumped out of the way, injuring his knee. A Seattle Fire Department crew treated him at the scene, but the man was not taken to a hospital.

No other injuries were reported.

Sandwith, who was not injured in the crash, was taken to the North Precinct, where he was processed for DUI and released.

Court records show he has no criminal record in Washington and only a short ticket history: A speeding deferment in 2007 and a Snohomish County traffic ticket last year.

His DUI pretrial hearing is scheduled for May 3.

A sign in the Dick's parking lot says the restaurant is closed temporarily and apologizes for the inconvenience. All but one window in the front and one left-side window were covered with plywood Tuesday.

Dick's staff hasn't estimated the damages, and general manager Ken Frazier did not return a message for comment.

The restaurant's standpipe - basically a vent in the plumbing that goes up through the roof and allows sewer gases to escape to the atmosphere -- is inside the structure at the front of the building, according to Seattle Public Utilities.

If the standpipe was disturbed or broken, the public health department would not let the restaurant reopen until it's repaired and inspected. A public health inspector has gone to the restaurant, but the standpipe is not an issue for the heath department, spokeswoman Hilary Karasz said.

"Our plumbing folks will be going out there on a courtesy call to make sure a back flow device is installed on the soda machine, and the food inspector will also be stopping by, but no permits are being required and no plan review," she said. "So, as soon as the repairs are done they'll re-open and we'll be dropping by to make sure everything is as it should be. We're confident that it will."

The closure of more than a week is at least the second for the Lake City location. The first came after a fire started at the French fry cooker.

In a memory book sold for the restaurant's 50th anniversary, then store manager Jerry Frampton wrote the Lake City location was shut down for about two weeks, and staff members "were busy as soon as we reopened."

The first Dick's opened in 1954 at 111 N.E. 45th Street. The addition of the Lake City location was announced April 13, 1963.

The fourth of five locations, the Lake City drive-in was designed by architect Raymond H. Peck and completed later that year.