close
close

A second-generation restaurant worker and a customer were killed after a car ploughed into the restaurant’s crowded patio.

A second-generation restaurant worker and a customer were killed after a car ploughed into the restaurant’s crowded patio.

ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. (KARE) – Two people were killed when a car plowed into a crowded bar on the patio of a popular Minnesota restaurant Sunday evening.

Authorities said the victims were a restaurant employee and a customer.

Phil Weber is the owner of Park Tavern in the St. Louis Park neighborhood of Minneapolis.

“The Park Tavern is part of the fabric of St. Louis Park,” he said. “My dad started the original one in 1957.”

Weber said it didn’t seem real when he got the call that a car had crashed into the Park Tavern patio, killing two people. Four others were injured in the crash.

“It’s still just unbelievable… unbelievable,” he said.

Weber admitted that when he learned that one of the victims was a second-generation worker, it hurt him even more.

Kristina Folkert’s stay at the Tavern began in her mother’s belly.

The other waiters said they took care of her so her mother could work.

Folkert’s mother died when she was only 14 years old.

“I keep accusing her of being like her mother, because she is like her mother, and now, unfortunately, she is with her mother,” Weber said.

Folkert recreated a photo of her mother last year when she was pregnant. She left behind three girls, ages 1 to 7.

“I feel helpless, I feel so broken to wake up and see all this,” Weber said.

Another family involved is from Methodist Hospital. A group of nurses gathered to honor the memory of a coworker.

One nurse died and four others were injured in the accident.

Mary McGibon is a victim collaborator.

“They are wonderful people … my colleagues and I are praying for their well-being,” she said.

“He had a heart of gold. He always smiled and loved his teammates,” McGibon said.

Now the twisted gates and tire tracks are overshadowed by flowers and signs of love.

“We have such a loyal fan base spanning generations, and I know they’re thinking of us. That’s really all I need,” Weber said.

The 56-year-old driver of the vehicle was detained by the police.

It is unclear what charges he might face.

Witnesses said they saw him trying to find a parking space and then driving his car onto a patio.

The restaurant has been closed indefinitely.