13 February 2024 , 10:01
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Dramatic footage shows the moment a car ploughed into a restaurant during a busy dinner service.
Miraculously no one was severely injured after the silver Jaguar careered into the Rokka Bar & Grill in Warrington, Cheshire, on Friday February 9 at around 9.30pm. This is despite one party sitting at the table closest to the window, which was shattered in the collision.
Gultekin Polat, the restaurant owner, described "glass flying", "people screaming" and said the moment was "like a bomb" going off. Mr Polat said: "I don't care about the money or the business. I am just very happy that no one was hurt or injured."
But a 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of drink-driving. A Cheshire Police spokesperson said the man, who is from Warrington, has been "released pending further enquiries".
Mr Polat told BBC he estimates it will cost around £60,000 to repair the damage, but hopes to be back open by Valentine's Day. The 40 customers and 15 staff in the restaurant at the time, though, avoided serious injury. The driver of the car was taken to hospital as a precaution.
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Firefighters and paramedics attended the scene after the crash, caught on the restaurant's CCTV on Friday. It shows a vehicle collide into the restaurant and debris crash everywhere around it.
A silver Jaguar careered into Rokka Bar & Grill in Warrington, Cheshire (Boka Bar and Grill)The eatery had shared a message on Facebook saying: "Dear customers, as you may have already seen or heard, last night our restaurant was involved with a collision from a car driving extremely fast around the bend on Warrington Rd."
"We are very, very lucky that no one within the restaurant or outside was injured, all a bit shook up but thankfully unharmed. We would firstly like to say thank you for the out pour of support that we have already received from the community with kind messages and asking if we need any help, it's really appreciated. We've been able to secure the windows that have been shattered with wooden boarding and we have given the restaurant a thorough clean throughout the early hours of the morning to make the property safe.
"We have also had an emergency surveillance team come out and check the structure of the building that was impacted and all is structurally stable and we have been given the go ahead to continue with business. Apart from the eye sore we will be OPEN and providing our service as normal!! We are working as fast as we can on getting fixtures replaced but until then our doors are open and the welcome and service will be exactly the same!! Thank you again for your understanding and continued support it means so much."