Colorado Man Charged With DUI Following Crash With IHOP Sign

Diners at a Fort Collins IHOP restaurant got quite a surprise recently when their dinner was unpleasantly interrupted by a crash outside — right in front of the restaurant, in fact.

Robert Assad, 28, crashed into an IHOP restaurant sign, just off Harmony Road, while he was driving under the influence. Local Fort Collins media outlet News 9 reported that the crash occurred on Monday, August 10 at approximately 8:21 p.m.

Assad was traveling eastbound on Harmony Road when he veered off the road in a full size truck and drove straight into a sign in front of the IHOP restaurant located just off Harmony Road at 1502 Oakridge Drive, which sits between Lemay Avenue and Ziegler Road.

The Coloradan reported that Assad “suffered minor injuries,” and also that local police confirmed that the crash “caused ‘major damage’ to both the restaurant’s sign and the truck Assad was driving.”

No other vehicles were involved in the crash and no additional passengers or pedestrians were injured. Assad was tested for impairment and was then hospitalized at Poudre Valley Hospital for his injuries before being taken into custody.

Local authorities said that he was being charged with DUI and careless driving, although there are currently no details regarding which substances Assad consumed. Fort Collins police are determining what next steps to take, specifically regarding the complete annihilation of IHOP’s sign; because Colorado is one of the few states without a felony standard for DUI, it’s unclear whether the property damage will affect Assad’s sentencing.

The IHOP in question, which typically closes at 10 p.m., closed early after the crash but reopened Tuesday morning.