Terrifying moment suspected drunk driver crashes pickup truck into crowded California restaurant
Dramatic video captured the horrifying moment a suspected drunk driver crashed his pickup truck into a packed California restaurant.
Footage captured by a security camera showed the white truck suddenly blasting through the front of the Chicken Thyme restaurant in Concord last Saturday around 2.10pm, sending glass flying and leaving the customers stunned.
The restaurant’s owner, Fraidoon Jamshed, recalled that the car ‘jumped up and down,’ hit the curb and then ‘just flew in [his] store’ at 1114 Meadow Lane.
Jamshed said he had seven or eight customers eating inside the family-owned restaurant when the crash happened. No one was injured.
Video caught Jamshed standing behind the counter and jumping out of the way as the car exploded into the restaurant, leaving a trail of concrete and rubble in its wake.
‘It’s miraculous nobody got hurt,’ he told KRON.
Jamshed said the driver was going ‘maybe 70 to 80 miles an hour’ and suggested that he was still accelerating at the time of the accident.
‘His foot was still on the gas, and we had to open the car and remove his foot from the gas,’ Jamshed told the outlet.
Security camera captured the moment a driver suspected of driving under the influence crashed through the the Chicken Thyme restaurant in Concord, California, last Saturday
The city of Concord closed Chicken Thyme’s indoor dining room after the collision, and repairs could take months
The accident took down a 16-by-16 concrete pillar which supports the roof, leading the city of Concord to close the indoor dining room for Chicken Thyme.
Jamshed said the repairs could take months as he asked customers to keep supporting the restaurant.
‘We’re still open for takeout and DoorDash delivery,’ he said.
Two other restaurants, Kabob Craze and Little Thai House, which share the seating have also closed their dining rooms.
However, the kitchen for all three restaurants has remained open since it is in another part of the shopping complex unaffected by the crash.
The driver was later arrested by the Concord Police Department, who only identified him as a 22-year-old man.
The man ‘displayed signs of intoxication,’ according to Concord police cited by the New York Post.
The restaurant’s owner, Fraidoon Jamshed (pictured in the security camera footage), said the car driver was going ‘maybe 70 to 80 miles an hour’ when the crash happened
Chicken Thyme, which opened in 2024, has been forced to shutter its dining room after the crash and rely on takeout orders
He was subsequently taken into custody on suspicion of driving under the influence, police added.
Concord police also said that the man was transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation.
No details have been publicly released about the man’s name or any charges he might face.
Chicken Thyme is a halal restaurant that is known for serving fried chicken and Afghan kabobs. It opened in 2024.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Concord Police Department and Chicken Thyme for further comment.
