'It sounded like an explosion.' Malvern cafe owner spared when truck plows into restaurant
MALVERN ‒ Restaurant owner Beth Howell had just gone upstairs for a moment when she heard the loud noise below.
A truck had crashed into the Cafe on the Corner restaurant at 103 S. Reed Ave. in Brown Township around 11 p.m. March 7. Howell lives in the upper level of the building.
“I was downstairs and was carrying stuff upstairs. And then about four or five minutes after I got upstairs, it sounded like an explosion,” Howell said. “I opened up the door and was looking and all I could see was a cloud of dirt, looked like smoke coming up the steps. My husband was already asleep, so it was pretty nerve-racking.”
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Great Trail Fire District responded and discovered the building has structural damage, and the stairs to the second floor were taken out. No injuries were reported.
Howell’s daughter, Jennifer Howell, lives nearby and heard the crash. She said she saw the red truck that hit the building back up and leave.
Howell said people on the street saw the driver speeding over the bridge. The driver turned left, ran over a street light and a handicap sign and then came across the street and crashed into the side of the restaurant.
The vehicle went through two walls and took out the steps. The cash register system, bakery cases and front counter were damaged. Howell said she’s unsure of the amount of damage, as they’re waiting for the insurance company to assess it.
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Howell said police found the driver’s vehicle about two hours later, but she doesn’t think an arrest has been made. The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office didn’t respond for comment.
Currently, Howell said the only way in and out of the living space is off the roof and down the ladder. They’re waiting for emergency services to help them with a temporary setup to get down more easily.
“It’s kind of like camping in a treehouse, but you have no ladder to get down,” she said, laughing.
Howell was in good spirits despite what happened. She’s just thankful nobody was injured.
“My grandson had left a few hours before that. It was just us upstairs at the time of the accident. Thank goodness it didn’t happen while we were open because it could’ve killed somebody."
Jennifer Howell, who works at the family-run restaurant that opened last July, set up a GoFundMe fundraiser to help the restaurant get back up and running. It has raised about $500 toward a goal of $10,000.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Cafe on the Corner owner just misses truck crashing into restaurant
