Web Extra!
Grumpy’s Café, the popular coffee shop at 35 E. Burlington St. in Riverside, was robbed this morning by a man armed with a handgun.
Manager Kimberly Palka said she was getting ready to open the business between 5:30 and 5:40 a.m. when the incident occurred. She said she went out back to the parking area to put something in her car when she was approached by a man she assumed was a college student. The man asked Palka if she knew when the next train was scheduled to arrive; she said she’d go get him a train schedule.
But the man followed Palka inside the back door, pulled out a black semiautomatic handgun and demanded money. After Palka handed over an undisclosed amount of cash, the man fled out the back door toward the train station. Palka locked the door behind her and called police.
The offender was described as a male Hispanic in his late teens or early 20s, about 5-foot-10 with a medium build. He was wearing a black coat and a black or navy blue stocking cap and was carrying an army-style backpack.
A rollover accident just after 6 a.m. this morning injured two people and closed First Avenue between Ogden and 31st Street for over an hour.
According to Riverside police, a 35-year-old LaGrange Highlands man fell asleep at the wheel of his 2004 Nissan SUV while southbound near Parkview Road on First Avenue, crossed the center line and struck a northbound 1996 Ford Windstar van head on.
The SUV flipped over and came to rest 200 feet south of the point of impact. The Windstar was spun around and came to rest facing southbound. Both drivers were transported to Loyola University Medical Center with injuries described as not life-threatening.
The driver of the Nissan was ticketed. Police said they do not believe alcohol was a contributing factor to the crash. First Avenue was reopened to traffic just after 7:15 a.m.