An elderly couple suffered serious injuries after the arches outside a McDonald's on the Navajo Nation fell on top of their vehicle.

Russell and Carolyn Janke were inside their car when strong winds knocked down the McDonald's sign. "It was a freak accident," Navajo acting Police Chief Steven Nelson told The Chicago Sun-Times.

Carolyn Janke, 68, remains in intensive care in Arizona with multiple injuries, including a fractured spinal column and a fractured sternum. Russell Janke, 70, was hit in the head and needed over 70 stitches, the couple's daughter-in-law said.

The owner of the franchise, located in Window Rock, Arizona, said it was cooperating with an investigation. Richardson Laughing, who works at a business nearby, said he had been worried about the sign.

"I've been working here two years and I've seen in blow back and forth in the wind," Laughing told The Navajo Times. "I've been saying to my wife that it's going to blow over sometime."

Get the Story:
McDonald's golden arches topple in Arizona high winds, crush Naperville couple (The Chicago Sun-Times 4/17)
McDonald's sign crushes visiting couple (The Navajo Times 4/16)