Tragedy at The Grand

First thing this morning, I hugged my 4-year-old son, Wyatt.

My blogs are typically pretty upbeat--even funny. This one's not. This story begins last night (Friday). For two fellas having a carefree conversation outside a bumpin' karaoke club, this account is tame compared to what really happened.
 
There were several accidents on the freeway that made me late in meeting some people for a comedy show at Harvey's Comedy Club in Portland. Then I was going to take my Karaoke World Tour to a popular Portland k-bar called the Grand Cafe. My friend Dave had been telling me about their superior sound system and crowds for some time. The Grand Cafe is on the east side of P-town. I'm never worried about where I park in my hometown of Salem, but we weren't in Kansas anymore, if you know what I mean.

I parked on the opposite end of the block, so we had a couple of blocks to walk to get to The Grand. As we enter, there are two gentlemen--probably in their mid- to late-40's--leaning against the wall sharing a quiet conversation. One was facing me, so I could see that he was about 6' tall, solid build. His hair was short, wavy, and sandy in color, but it could have been salt-and-pepper with the low light. The other gentleman was about 5'9", a Latino with straight, short, black hair. He was stocky, probably about 220 lbs. I think he had glasses, and perhaps a little facial hair going on.

I don't know why I remember these details. We were just walking into a club. No biggie, right?

We were greeted with the standard ID check and $3 cover charge by a girl with an eastern European accent. She was quite insistent that we fill out this form to give our names, birthdays, and phone numbers so that they could call us and offer us some birthday party package. Obviously, she didn't realize that I wasn't into birthday parties. I was on tour, for crying out loud.

Over her shoulder, I could see that people were dancing on and off the dance floor. A guy in a red shirt was doing that funky urban dance style that is very mechanical and robotic, but not the "robot". He was good. Fast feet in cool shoes that barely poked out from under his baggy jeans. He smiled a lot and apparently knew the girl working at the door because they were bantering while Shannon and I made our way to the nearest bartender.

ESPN was on the bar television. The two female bartenders were both in their 20's. I got the impression that the Grand doesn't pay very well, because the bartenders made no eye contact, and seemed liked they were in a contest with each other to see which one could wish they were somewhere else the most.

Shannon was getting drinks, so I took the opportunity to check out my audience. I could tell I'd already been pegged as a non-regular. The crowd was a mix of cuties, sistas, regulars, and middle-aged date-nighters. Oh, and the obligatory white-trash karaoke folk.

We'd been there for about 2 minutes, so far.

Shannon hands me a Cap'n and Coke and we head for a table. Back corner's no good, so we wander to a front booth on the right side. 3 minutes and counting.

The KJ has put on some dance music and I spied a few song books on some nearby tables. I paused for a moment, noticed how beautiful Shannon is before taking a sip of my drink, and looked again for the nearest available songbook. What followed was a deafening sound I hadn't heard since a childhood car crash on July 2nd, 1981.

Metal to brick. Glass shatters. Smoke. Screams. Crowds are running away from the entrance. Panic takes over the club. 4 minutes.

"What was that," asked Shannon in a flat, worried tone, "Gun-fire?" Her body language has gone from calm to extreme stress in half-a-second. "No," I replied. "That's a car... Or truck... Could be head-on."

"No! No!" It was a female voice near the door, out of our view because of a partition that helps to block light from the entrance of the club. It's apparent to me that a vehicle has crashed into the front of the club. Shannon appears calm, but was speechless while I was looking for a way out.

I turned to her and said, "Grab you're stuff. We're leaving."

People were now swirling with no place to go. There were no visible exit signs. Screaming continued. Men were yelling for towels.

The music was still blaring. A woman with short brown hair grabs the mic and calmly, yet annoyingly, calls out, "Please remain calm! Everyone, please re--," and just like that the sound system was turned off. 4 minutes, 30 seconds.

"He's pinned! He's pinned!" Voices from the scene of the accident were yelling all kinds of things. There appeared to be no way out.

Two girls that had been dancing now ran towards us in the back of the club, as if they were being chased. "Let's go! Come on!" On of the girls was begging her taller friend who was hesitant to leave. The taller girl turned around to head back into the lion's den.

The smoke was moving into the club as others moved toward the front door. 5 minutes.

I grabbed Shannon's hand and we walked toward the kitchen, still out of view of the scene of the accident. It's only been about a minute since the crash, but it seemed much longer. A guy had just come from the front and told a few of us that there was one guy pinned between the car and the building, and he thought there was another underneath the car. As it turns out, there was no one under the car, but the car had hit 2 pedestrians, then slammed into the building, pinning another man between the car and the building.

Here's one news story from KGW, Portland's channel 8...
Car crashes into SE Portland cafe, 3 hurt

KGW photo: Car that hit The Grand restaurant building on SE Grand and Morrison. Three people were injured when a car crashed into a southeast Portland cafe late Friday night, police said.


Two cars were involved in a crash on the Morrison Bridge, which caused one of the vehicles to veer across the sidewalk and crash into the front doors of The Grand Cafe at 832 SE Grande and Morrison.


Police said three pedestrians were also hit by the veering car. One of the victims was hit when he was caught between the building and the car; two other victims were found nearby on the sidewalk.


Two of the injured were taken to a local hospital for treatment, although their injuries were not life threatening. The third victim walked away without any major injuries. Police did not release their identities.


The driver of the car that hit the cafe, 27-year old John Daniel McElhaney, was arrested by officers for driving under the influence of alcohol and on charges of assault. He remained held Saturday at the Multnomah County jail.

Here's the news story from KOIN, Portland's Channel 6.

Man Jumps Between Stranger, Out-Of-Control Car
Alexis Del Cid, KOIN News 6


PORTLAND -- He says he was just acting on instinct, but others call him a hero. Let me introduce you to a man who put himself in the path of an out-of-control car to save another man's life.
He has a steel shaft running from his knee to his ankle.

"I have the morphine drip right here," Kent Jones said from his hospital bed.

His leg is completely snapped in three places.

"I could see my foot sticking out at a 45-degree angle straight away from my leg."

Jones has been in this hospital bed since Friday night.

"I could hear numerous people saying I was dying."

But before all this, the Portland man was simply standing outside the Grand Cafe with a friend. Having just won $2,000 at video poker, he thought it was his lucky night.

"I just remember the car come screaming toward us."

But Jones was not in its path.

"I was like a deer in the headlights," 24-year-old Israel Mudder recalled. Mudder, who had never met Jones, was about to be killed.

"That whole 3 seconds is a blur," he said.

Just as the car was about to hit him, Mudder says he felt a push.

"I put my hand on him and shoved him," Jones said.

But by shoving Mudder out of the way, Jones had just put himself in the car's path. With nowhere to run, he jumped.

"I just jumped straight up, and the bumper of my car caught my leg."

"He was sitting like this and his foot was sideways. It looked like a corkscrew," Mudder said.

The driver, 27-year-old John Daniel McElhaney, was arrested at the scene and charged with driving under the influence.

Jones and another man whose ankle was broken were rushed to the hospital. Mudder walked away feeling that it was his lucky night.

"I definitely got that guy to thank for saving my life, because that car was coming right at me."

"It happened too fast for anybody to be a hero. It was just knee jerk," Jones said.

Police say the car that hit Jones lost control while coming off the Morrison Bridge. Interestingly, this isn't the first close call that Jones and his family have had with the Morrison Bridge. You may remember that a woman lost control last spring and drove off the bridge and into the Willamette River. She survived. That woman is Jones' daughter in-law.

Back to the story... I spotted an unlit exit sign and we left briskly.

As we walked down the street, a young man was running to the scene of the accident. It was obvious to me that he either witnessed it, or was involved somehow. He was very emotional, distraught, and in a state of shock.

As Shannon and I walked to my truck, it occurred to me that we were just 4 minutes from being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I wonder, how long it would have taken to drive around the block one more time to find a better parking spot? I wonder, how long it would have taken to talk Shannon's cousin and her fiance to come out with us? How long would it have taken me to fill out that form in the doorway?

Conversely, what if the driver of that car had not finished the last half of his last drink and left four minutes earlier? What if he had decided to stay home?

Be safe. See you on tour.

Here's the story from KPTV, Portland's channel 12.

Car crashes into 3 pedestrians and building
Oct 1, 2005, 11:28 PM
PORTLAND - One man faces DUII charges for an accident that sent a car into a building and two people to the hospital.

Police were called to the scene around 10 p.m. Friday at the Grand Cafe on Southeast Grand Avenue.

Detectives say a car driven by 27-year-old John Daniel McElhaney was coming eastbound off of the Morrison Bridge when he was hit by a second vehicle.

That crash sent McElhaney's vehicle into the building. Three pedestrians were hit.

Two of the pedestrians were transported to local hospitals by ambulance withtaken to the hospital injuries, a third person was not hurt.

McElhaney was not injured and was booked on DUII and second degree assault charges.

An investigation in under way.

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