PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) - Newly released video showed a new angle of a vehicle crashing into a South Florida restaurant. Several customers inside were left injured, and now, the restaurant’s owner is trying his best to move forward.
“We get a call, frantic, by one of our employees that a car had come through the window, through the front of our storefront and injured a bunch a people, and it made it all the way to the back of our restaurant, almost hitting the counter,” said Pete Montanez, owner of the damaged restaurant.
Montanez and his wife own Thai Meal, located at 8257 W. Sunrise Blvd. The two weren’t at the restaurant Friday when the crash happened because of a family emergency.
Some of their family members were at the restaurant when the car came flying through.
“There was only one empty table in the whole restaurant and it was packed at 6:30 on a Friday night, and my brother in-law was here, my sister, regular customers that we know and love,” Montanez said.
From the surveillance video, the driver was seen going slowly at first, but when the car plowed into the restaurant, Montanez said the driver accelerated.
“There were 20 people that were injured, 12 were transported, including two pregnant females,” said Plantation Police Lt. Aston Bright.”
“One of the husbands came back to find their telephone, his wife was five-months pregnant, and thank God, he told me the baby was OK, but she was still in the hospital getting checked out,” Montanez said.
Nine people were transported and are expected to be OK.
“A lot of glass, cut, I think the worse injury was to our head waitress who ended up with eight stables in her head and a concussion, and she is at home resting,” Montanez said.
“I’ve got a couple of bumps and bruises. I’ve got to go check my leg out,” said Angel Soler, a customer who was injured. “The door frame hit me on the side, and I got shoved against the booths.”
For Montanez, he said he’s praying for those injured and is hoping that the mess will be quickly repaired.
7News cameras captured hopeful messages customers placed on the restaurant’s storefront.
“I’m just hoping that everyone’s OK and recover quickly, this could have been a lot worse,” Montanez said.
A cleanup effort and several repairs are being done at Thai Meal.
As the restaurant is being repaired, Montanez said it will be opened though UberEats for pickup only. He is hoping that customers will stick by them until the eatery is back and running.
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