Bartender injured after truck crashed into Calgary restaurant calls for answers, accountability

Woman injured in restaurant truck crash speaks out An employee who was injured after a truck crashed into a restaurant more than a year ago is speaking out. Nicole Di Donato reports.

An employee who was injured after a truck crashed into a southeast restaurant more than a year ago is calling for answers and accountability.

"I feel like my whole life was stolen from me," said Deanna Culp, who was a bartender at Sammy's Chophouse for three weeks.

Culp was working on the evening of Aug. 13, 2022, when a truck smashed through the front windows at high speed and landed inside.

"I remember seeing the glass disintegrate literally into powder. Everything went into really slow motion and you could hear the explosion of the glass," she said.

"It was almost like a tornado. I was on the floor so fast. I remember on my way down, kind of hitting the beer cooler, smacking my teeth on the counter."

Culp was trapped under debris behind the bar and had to be rescued by the fire department.

She and three customers were taken to hospital.

Culp's injuries were among the most severe. She had a broken femur, pelvis, teeth and detached eyelids on one eye.

She's had multiple surgeries already and is waiting for another.

"I have problems with prolonged walking, prolonged sitting, prolonged standing," she said.

"There's comfort issues when I sleep. There's PTSD issues when I sleep."

Culp hasn't been able to work since and is living on worker's compensation.

The single mother says caring for her 13-year-old son is impossible and she now lives with a roommate.

"It's hard not to remember all the loss you've suffered," she said.

"I was really struggling with the symptoms of PTSD and depression and not having the proper counsellors, so I became a little self-destructive. I think initially, I turned to alcohol a little bit to celebrate being in the environment that I had survived."

Calgary police have charged the driver, 77-year-old Dharam Raj Lakhan, with one count of dangerous operation of a vehicle.

Police say neither alcohol nor drugs were factors in the crash.

Lakhan will appear in court on Nov. 21.

CTV News reached out to Sammy's Chophouse for an interview but the owner declined.

Culp doesn't know if she'll ever work at the restaurant again but says the support of her colleagues, customers and the other victims has helped.

"We often describe (Sammy's Chophouse) as 'your local Cheers.' It's a very accepting place. Everybody knows your name. Everybody's always happy to see you," she said.

Now, Culp wants justice served.

"I don't want everything to get swept under the rug. It's not okay because my life will never be the same. A lot of lives won't be."