Street Sweeper Crashes Into Famous Dave's; Driver Injured (VIDEO)

WATCH: Street Sweeper Crashes Into Stapleton BBQ Restaurant

Famous Dave's Barbecue Restaurant on East 36th Street and Syracuse got an unexpected guest early Monday morning, when a 12,000-pound street sweeper plowed through the wall of the restaurant.

The sweeper drove 14 to 15 feet into the restaurant, and "destroyed several walls," Famous Dave's director of marketing Michael Higgins told 9News.

Its driver was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. But as ABC-7 reports, it could have been much worse.

The cleaning crew would normally have been in the building around 1:30 a.m. when the accident happened. But they had apparently forgotten their keys Monday morning, and had to go back home to get them. As a result, the restaurant was empty, and the driver was the only one to suffer injuries.

"If [a cleaning crew worker] had been behind the bar, he wouldn't be with us any longer," Higgins told the Denver Post.

The restaurant will be closed indefinitely, though owners hope to have some areas open within a day or two.

Watch a DenverPost.com video of the crash scene:

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