Truck rolls into restaurant, injuring 3
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (CNN) -- An 18-wheeler left idling in a parking lot in downtown Memphis rolled into the front of a fast-food restaurant, injuring three people, two of them critically, police said Wednesday.
The driver told police his empty truck "jumped into gear" by itself, said Sgt. Vince Higgins, a public information officer with the Memphis Police Department.
Eight people -- four who had been standing at the walkup window and four who were in the drive-through area -- were trapped and had to be freed, Higgins said.
A 14-year-old girl was taken in critical condition to LeBonheur Hospital and a woman was taken to the Regional Medical Center, he said.
A man in noncritical condition was taken to the Regional Medical Center, he added.
The accident happened around 10:30 a.m. at a Rally's Restaurant along a major thoroughfare just over the bridge that connects Memphis with West Memphis.
The driver, a 26-year-old man, sustained minor injuries trying to stop the truck and turn it off, Higgins said. He was not hospitalized.
The traffic unit is investigating. "The official statement is it jumped into gear," Higgins said. He added that the driver -- who was working for a general contracting company called Biggs Contracting -- could be charged "if they found it was negligence."
