Driver charged after collision sends Durham police car crashing into downtown restaurant

A minivan driver was charged after colliding with a Durham police car Thursday and sending it crashing into a downtown restaurant building, police said.

The crash occurred shortly before noon at the intersection of West Morgan and Mangum streets when a white minivan struck the officer’s vehicle, according to a Durham Police Department news release.

Footage from ABC11, The News & Observer’s newsgathering partner, showed the police car halfway inside the building at 105 W. Morgan St., damaging the entrance of the Indian Monsoon restaurant.

The officer and the minivan driver were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the release said.

A female passenger and a child in the minivan sustained injuries that were treated at the scene by Emergency Medical Services workers.

The driver of the van, Lisa Camargo-Cruz, 48, was charged with no insurance and a red-light violation in connection with the crash, police said late Thursday afternoon.

An employee at Indian Monsoon restaurant told The N&O the restaurant was closed for the day due to the damage.