Driver who drove into McDonald's charged with drinking and driving

AUSTIN, Texas - Plywood covers most of the side entrance to the McDonald's at the intersection of Manchaca Road and Slaughter Lane.

Jeremiah Chairez was near the scene Friday and took several pictures. "I can’t believe it got them. I was walking over there, I was actually already on the phone, so I pulled out my phone, I mean pulled up the app, and started clicking,” said Chairez.

Chairez was next to the Lambs Tire and Automotive Center Friday afternoon when he heard a familiar sound. "The initial crash was like a crunching sound, like anyone who has been in a fender bender knows what that sounds like,” said Chairez.

The mark on a brick wall near the front door of the auto-shop shows how close the car came to smashing into the lobby. "If it had been a smidge over she would have crashed all the way into the glass there,” said Dane Jaskinia.

A few minutes before the crash, Jaskinia who is the auto shop manager, said he noticed a woman parked in a handicapped spot. "At that time she let me know somebody was coming to pick her up, the car wasn't on, she was just sitting in the car, so I didn't think too much of it, and I went ahead with my closing procedures in the store,” said Jaskinia.

As he left, the car backed out.

"She put it in reverse and as fast as she could she hit that building,” said Jaskinia.

The driver then smashed through a mail box and went right into the McDonald's. "It was pretty loud, it was loud and I tell you I was scared for the people in side,” said Jaskinia.

Chairez took pictures as the driver got out. She briefly stood and then sat on a curb. "And she was just staggering she couldn't really stand up straight. She was kind of slurring,” said Chairez.

In the car, police found open beer cans.

The woman, identified as 76-year-old Nancy Graham, was checked out and then booked into jail.

According to Graham's arrest warrant, she initially started a field sobriety test and then stopped. The arresting officer also reported she refused to do a breathalyzer test.

Graham is formally charged with driving while intoxicated. Court documents note she admitted "she was drinking in the car and at home all day." She also allegedly told first responders she, "was drunk and on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being the most drunk ever) she was a 10."

"As I pointed out there was a piece of fencing under the vehicle which was mangled ... if somebody had been there they would not be here today,” said Chairez.

There were customers inside the McDonald's at the time of the crash. "People were everywhere, there was glass and stuff everywhere it was a pretty chaotic scene,” said Jaskinia.

Three customers were hurt; among them a child who suffered a cut to his leg.

Graham lives about a block from the crash scene.

She did not answer the door when FOX 7 went by her apartment to get a comment.