BARLING (KFSM) — A customer who had just finished eating at a favorite Barling restaurant accidentally drove through the adjacent building next door.
According to Barling Police, the woman had just finished dining at Mama's Country Cafe at 203 Fort Street about 12:30 p.m. She was parked in front of the vacant portion of the building next to the restaurant.
The woman told police her accelerator got stuck while trying to reverse, and instead drove forward into the restaurant. She pushed through the front of the building and emerged out the side of it.
The woman struck power and electrical lines that were connected to the building but missed a gas line.
No one was in that portion of the building that was struck, and no injuries have been reported. Police say the woman walked away safely from the wreck and checked out by EMS. Her name has not been released.
Police do not suspect impaired driving at this time and have not cited the woman for the crash.
Isis Meredith, the owner of Mama's Country Cafe, said that she had been working in the office at the time of the crash.
"All of a sudden I heard this bang, and I mean it sounded like an explosion," Meredith said.
Debbie, an employee of Mama's Country Cafe who declined to give her last name, said they had to turn the gas off temporarily as a precautionary measure, making it challenging to prepare certain menu items. She said they should be able to turn the gas on once the Arkansas Oklahoma Gas representative, who arrived about 1 p.m., finished his inspection. She said the restaurant would be open on Saturday.