Heroics in the Drive-Thru Lane
California college student Luca Opperman is being credited with quick action after a tense scene at an In-N-Out in Lake Elsinore early Wednesday morning. Opperman, 20, was waiting for his burger when he heard loud banging from inside the restaurant, according to reporting cited in the source article. He looked through the window and saw a 53-year-old woman allegedly smashing a large, branch-like stick against the counter. One end of the stick was broken into a jagged point, which Opperman believed could seriously hurt someone. Employees reportedly ran into a back room as the situation escalated. At that point, the normal modern response would be to film it, post it, and wait for the comment section to save civilization. Opperman chose a more direct route.
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A Spatula, a Charge, and a Fast Ending
Opperman jumped out of his vehicle and dove feet-first through the drive-thru window. A witness told the Los Angeles Times the move looked like something from “Spider-Man” or a “Jackie Chan move.” That tracks, since Opperman is a former parkour instructor and also participates in freestyle trampolining. Once inside the kitchen, he grabbed the first thing he could use to defend himself: a metal spatula. He recalled holding it and yelling, “Get out of here! Get out of here!” The woman allegedly kept swinging the sharpened stick toward him. Opperman then dropped his shoulder, charged forward, and took the stick away from her. It is not every day that public safety depends on a college student, a drive-thru window, and the humble burger-flipping tool, but bureaucracy rarely arrives before the spatula does.
Deputies Detain the Suspect
According to a witness, the woman became angry because her food was not being prepared quickly enough. Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies later found her outside the restaurant and detained her without incident. The suspect was identified as Antonieta Sanchez, 53, of Redlands. She was booked into the Southwest Detention Center on suspicion of felony vandalism and brandishing a weapon, according to the Los Angeles Times. No injuries were reported. In-N-Out Chief Operating Officer Denny Warnick praised Opperman’s selflessness and quick thinking, and said the company personally expressed its gratitude to him. For once, the phrase “employee safety” was not just corporate poster art in a break room.
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