3 sent to hospital after vehicle crashes through restaurant window

Three people were taken to hospital with minor injuries Saturday night after a car crashed through the window of an east Ottawa restaurant.

Emergency crews were called to the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen at 2000 Montreal Road at around 7:30 p.m., said Ottawa Paramedic Services.

One adult and two children were taken to hospital with scrapes, cuts and other minor injuries, paramedics told CBC News.

A 13-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy were transported to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, while a 37-year-old man was transported to the Ottawa Hospital's general campus.

Injured were sitting near window

All three were in the restaurant, sitting at a table a few feet away from where the car, a red sedan, came to a stop, said superintendent of operations Lianne Shaver.

A fourth restaurant patron, a 26-year-old woman, was treated at the scene, Shaver said.

"There was quite a few people who were shaken by [the crash], a lot of people finding themselves very lucky that they hadn't decided to sit in the window."

"That goes for all the patrons of the restaurant at the time — including the staff members."

First responders offered the driver of the sedan medical treatment, but it was refused, Shaver said.

'Not that busy, thankfully'

Restaurant manager Mohammad Omar told CBC News that he was at another store when he got a call from his employees about the collision.

He said he was at the restaurant within five minutes.

"I just saw [a complete] mess. Everything was here and there. The store was full of glass, people were running here and there."

"It was not that busy, thankfully," Omar added. "Usually Saturdays are really busy, but yesterday was a little bit quiet."

It remains unclear as to how the driver of the sedan ended up in the window and whether he or she will be facing any charges.

An officer at the Ottawa Police Service's east division told CBC that they would likely not be releasing information until Monday.

Omar said he expected the restaurant to reopen around noon Sunday.