Starbucks being readied for reopening following accident

The accident that closed a Los Gatos Starbucks was likely caused by driver error, a Los Gatos-Monte Sereno police investigation has concluded.

The coffee shop has been closed since May 10, when an unidentified female driver plowed her 2012 Tesla Model S through the front doors of the Starbucks at Los Gatos Boulevard and Blossom Hill Road.

“Based on the collision investigation the primary collision factor was determined to be driver error,” Capt. Clint Tada said in an email.

Tesla has been criticized in recent years by drivers who allege their vehicles accelerated on their own, causing accidents.

But that’s apparently been ruled out in the Los Gatos case.

The company has also been investigated for Autopilot-related accidents, including one in March that killed Apple engineer Walter Huang in Mountain View.

Tesla first introduced the Autopilot system in October

2014, so the 2012 Model S involved in the Los Gatos accident was not equipped with Autopilot.

Starbucks, meanwhile, has contracted with KDC Construction of Anaheim to repair the coffee shop, with temporary fencing and window

coverings designed to keep the curious at bay.

But a quick peek inside Monday showed a halfdozen or so hard-hatted workers installing what appeared to be a new counter.

Starbucks did not immediately respond to requests

for information on a possible reopening date, but an unidentified employee at another Los Gatos Starbucks said they’re “hoping” to reopen Aug. 11.

PHOTO BY JUDY PETERSON Workers from Anaheim-based KDC Construction are repairing a Los Gatos Starbucks that was damaged and closed in May when a Tesla crashed through its front doors.