Pickup truck hits Jexal’s pizzeria in McHenry; driver ticketed

A pickup truck that hit the front entrance patio at Jexal’s Pizza & Wing-Zeria in McHenry caused between $15,000 and $20,000 in damage.

The patio and retaining wall should be repaired in a week or two, owner Mike Dumelle said. The pizzeria remains open for business.

“No one was hurt, and the building did great. It didn’t go past the pergola, and there wasn’t even a cracked window,” Dumelle said, noting that the retaining wall took most of the impact.

The crash happened at 2:48 a.m. Sunday, McHenry police Chief John Birk said. The vehicle, a Nissan Frontier pickup truck, was turning onto Green Street from Route 120 and slid “up and onto the sidewalk in front of Jexal’s” due to taking the turn too fast with ice and snow on the road, Birk said.

The driver, a 35-year-old man, was cited for making an improper turn, not having a valid driver’s license, operating a vehicle with suspended registration for not having insurance and operating an uninsured vehicle, police said.

The vehicle was impounded due to the suspended registration, but the owner provided valid insurance and registration Friday, Birk said, so the vehicle was released.

There was no evidence that the driver was intoxicated, police said.