A night clerk at an El Cajon motel narrowly escaped serious injury last week when a disgruntled guest drove his vehicle into the lobby. The clerk returns to work Tuesday after taking some time off to recover - the same day the man behind the wheel is slated to face a judge.
The office at the the Budget Inn Motel in El Cajon has been open while under construction.
Four nights ago, a car barreled through the wall just missing night clerk Nate Creekmore.
"Every muscle in my body tensed up," Creekmore said in an exclusive interview with NBC 7. "I haven't moved that fast in years."
NBC 7 has obtained a copy of the video. Creekmore is in a cowboy hat and the vehicle crashes through a window on the left side of the screen.
Creekmore credits the steel plates and thick, bullet-proof glass with helping him avoid serious injury.
"To not even hit his brakes is unbelievable to me."
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Scott Richardson, 62, was behind the wheel of the vehicle. He had been told to leave the motel three hours before the collision. Creekmore said Richardson had been involved in a fight and was under the influence.
"I threw him out for drinking and everything like that and I was just doing my job," the clerk said.
"Who thinks of that? I never thought someone would come back and just drive into the office."
Remarkably, Richardson was not injured.
He appeared disoriented as firefighters helped him out of the car.
Surveillance video shows Creekmore limping away.
A job as a night clerk was just about the only employment he could get after an accident on another job before this one, left him disabled.
"On a cane, I move slow I fall on occasion," Creekmore said.
Call it survival instinct. Call it reflex, but the cat-like response he displayed spared him far greater pain.
Creekmore said he is a little anxious about returning to work but said he can't live in fear or unemployed.
Richardson is scheduled for an arraignment Tuesday in El Cajon. He's facing multiple charges, including the attempted murder of the night clerk.
