7 hurt as car slams into Center City Burger King

Seven people were injured when a car crashed into a Burger King in Center City on Monday. (Clem Murray / Staff Photographer)
Seven people were injured when a car crashed into a Burger King in Center City on Monday. (Clem Murray / Staff Photographer)
BY MORGAN ZALOT, zalotm@philly.com 215-854-5928
Posted: July 26, 2011

A fast-food lunch turned dangerous for several people in Center City yesterday when a car driven by an 85-year-old man plowed into the Burger King at 8th and Market streets, injuring seven people and leaving a pile of shattered glass and broken bricks in its wake.

"I heard the engine roar and saw the vehicle come toward me," said Timothy Humphrey, 54, who left the restaurant just before the crash. "I ran to avoid the vehicle."

Jesse Pfeffer, 26, and his fiancée, Annamarie Moss, 21, also narrowly avoided being hit by the Mercury Grand Marquis, which police said crashed into the restaurant after exiting the parking lot across 8th Street.

"It almost sounded like an explosion," Pfeffer said of the accident.

A corporal from the Police Department's Accident Investigation Division said the driver, whom they did not identify, is from Glenolden. It was unclear whether he would face any charges.

The driver was among the injured, the corporal said. One man who was inside the restaurant suffered two broken legs and was listed in critical but stable condition. Another person who was inside suffered lacerations. The rest, including the driver, had minor injuries and were expected to be treated and released from Jefferson or Hahnemann hospital.

Humphrey, who remained shaken about 90 minutes after the incident, said it was lucky that the restaurant wasn't too crowded when the car hit it.

"If that'd happened five minutes before, it would've been a lot worse," he said.

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