Eight people were hospitalized after a car barreled into a pub in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday, according to authorities.
The crash into Ireland’s Four Courts took place at approximately 6:45 p.m., the Arlington County Fire Department said on social media, and resulted in a large inferno that has since been extinguished.
No fatalities have been reported, but officials said 14 people were injured. Eight were hospitalized, including four people in critical condition and four with non-life threatening conditions, while the others were treated on the scene but released with minor injuries, the department said.
TEN KILLED IN PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE FIRE
Update to patient count: 8 patients transported to area hospitals. 4 critical, 4 NLT, and 6 patients treated on scene and released.
— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) August 13, 2022
The car’s driver and one employee at the restaurant were among those injured, the restaurant’s manager Dave Cahill told Arlington Now. At least one employee was hospitalized for smoke inhalation, but was not among the critically injured, the manager said. All four critically injured are believed to be customers who were attending the bar during a happy hour event.
NEW VIDEO: Fire erupts from Ireland’s Four Courts pub in Arlington moments after a vehicle crashed into the building. At least 4 people are critically hurt.
📹: Mira Hougen pic.twitter.com/yNtR4epj2B
— Michael Pegram (@MichaelPNews) August 12, 2022
“Please keep all the injured in your thoughts and prayers,” Ireland’s Four Courts tweeted. “Thanks to @ArlingtonVaPD and @ArlingtonVaFD for their quick response. We are devastated.”
The bar, which has been around for 20 years, is normally more crowded on Friday nights, Mary Reilly, a server at the restaurant, told NBC Washington, adding that it was a “miracle” that the place was more empty at the time of the crash.
“I was just talking to some regulars that come in, and I heard a bang. We all heard a bang, an explosion, so I just turned around, and I saw all the debris coming towards the back of the pub. So it was just pure panic,” Reilly said. “It was just pure panic. ‘Everybody out the back, everybody out the back.’ That’s what it was. Just panic.”
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The fire has since been extinguished, Arlington’s fire department said, but significant damage was done to the front of the restaurant. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
