Car Smashes Into Starbucks Shop

Bleary-eyed customers waiting for their morning fix at a North Hollywood Starbucks got a different kind of jolt Friday when a stolen car pursued by police hopped a curb, careened over a bus bench and barreled through the store’s front window.

The crash--which left five people with minor injuries, including a police officer and two store patrons--served residents of the bohemian-style neighborhood with an unusual wake-up call just before 7 a.m.

“I guess there’s no coffee this morning,” deadpanned resident Dennis Petersen, who pulled up on his bike shortly afterward for his usual double latte before work.

Police had been trying to stop the car, carrying a driver and a passenger, for a routine traffic violation a few blocks away when it sped off, said Lt. Mark Johnson of the Los Angeles Police Department’s North Hollywood Division.

A check revealed the car was stolen and officers gave chase southbound on Lankershim Boulevard, Johnson said. Moments later, after turning onto Magnolia Avenue, the driver lost control and crashed through the store window.

Jenn Covell, 27, on her way to work at Crate & Barrel in Century City, was among a handful of customers inside. She had just stepped up to the pickup counter for what she reluctantly admits was her usual hot chocolate when she vaguely heard sirens. She turned to see a car careening around the corner.

“I actually didn’t think he’d come into the store,” Covell said. “The next thing I know, he’s in.”

The car landed completely inside the store, just a few yards from the counter and next to a cheerful display of “Starbucks Breakfast Blend Coffee.”

After what Covell describes as a pregnant pause--”There was this kind of moment of, ‘OK, it’s over’ “--police officers burst through the shattered window with guns drawn, startling store customers again.

Police quickly arrested the passenger and the driver, who also suffered minor injuries. The driver, identified as Timothy March, 19, of North Hollywood, was later charged with auto theft, and the passenger, Jeffrey Tanigawa, 20, with resisting arrest.

One officer, Michael Delesdernier of the North Hollywood Division, was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for breathing problems after he inhaled aerosol fumes when the car’s air bag deployed. He was later released.

Two customers were also treated at and released from a local hospital after suffering minor wounds from flying debris.

Meanwhile, other independently owned coffeehouses in the area did brisk business Friday in the giant chain’s absence. Starbucks had opened its doors two months earlier to mixed feelings among residents. Many feared the chain would lead to the extinction of the smaller Mom-and-Pop coffee shops in the area.

Across the street, the Coffee Pit sold a whopping 75 drinks in under two hours. “I’ve done what I normally do in a normal shift [of eight hours] in two hours,” said Brooke Bundgard, 20, who worked the counter.

“I think it’s completely ironic,” she said. “Starbucks is like Corporate America. They took away from all the local businesses out here.”

But many who swear by Starbucks as a morning necessity were dismayed.

“Nobody’s worried about people being hurt,” said Steve Boe, 34, who works at a school nearby. “They’re just [upset] they couldn’t get their coffee.”