8 people injured after car hits outdoor dining area in Northern Liberties

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Wednesday, May 12, 2021
8 people injured after car hits dining area in Northern Liberties
Multiple people were injured after a car struck an outdoor dining area at a restaurant in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia on Wednesday morning.

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Multiple people were injured after a car struck an outdoor dining area at a restaurant in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia on Wednesday morning.

First responders tell Action News a total of eight people were taken to the hospital after the crash.

Chopper 6 was over the scene after a crash at an outdoor dining area in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia.

The victims are being treated at Temple University Hospital and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. All are in stable condition.

The crash happened just before 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Video from Chopper 6 showed a silver vehicle with heavy front-end damage and debris scattered on the roadway at 4th and Reno streets at Cafe La Maude.

A blue car with some rear-end damage could be seen a short distance away at 4th and Brown streets.

"It was a loud noise, a big bang. It was tragic," said witness Natasha Houston-Hurst.

She said she was waiting for a table when the chaos erupted.

"People were screaming, jumping, yelling. A young lady got injured on her arm, so everyone was shocked. It was a lot of commotion," Houston-Hurst said. "It was just a three to four car pileup."

Owner Gabi Richan describes what he saw on surveillance video.

"The one car was trying to go around the car, and I don't know if there was anything between them," he said. "They were both on the same street coming down, they were going south, and then one car tried to pass the other car and it bumped it into the structure."

Chopper 6 video showed some of the injured being carried away on stretchers.

"A few people got injured, nothing major, everybody looked okay," he said.

Some people in the area say this has them shaken up.

"Had we scheduled it half an hour earlier it would have been us and that would have been devastating. It makes you think about life," said Viktor Antonius.

"I don't ever do outside dining and never will because I don't want to be sitting out here and something like this happens to me," said Frederick Tookes.