Minors injured as SUV crashes through Tennessee coffee shop

Published 8:22 am Thursday, December 19, 2019

ARLINGTON (AP) — Two minors were injured when an SUV crashed through a Tennessee coffee shop and landed fully inside the restaurant where students gathered after school.

The vehicle plunged through the doors of Crave Coffee Bar and Bistro in Arlington, shattering glass and sending patrons scrambling for cover just after 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, news outlets reported. Two minors were taken to a children’s hospital in noncritical condition, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement on Twitter.

A 15-year-old patron told the Commercial Appeal that she saw the car approach the store with no sign of stopping. The girl’s mother was next door at a bakery and later told the newspaper she rushed back to find the entire door frame and surrounding glass knocked out at the coffee shop. The SUV came to a stop completely inside the dining area as tables and chairs lay scattered among the debris, pictures taken by news outlets show. Young patrons with backpacks huddled in a corner.

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Shelby County investigators said they think the driver suffered a medical emergency. The driver was also taken to a hospital in noncritical condition.

Crave is a popular spot for high school students to spend time after school, and some were inside at the time of the crash, news outlets reported. A representative for the shop declined to comment.