Langley Quiznos left with damage after car crashes into restaurant
Posted March 25, 2024 1:58 pm.
Last Updated March 25, 2024 9:45 pm.
A Quiznos owner in Langley is left wondering how to pick up the pieces after a car crashed into her business Monday.
Paul Gill, whose aunt, Prabhjot, owns the franchise store in the Murrayville neighbourhood, says it happened around 11 a.m.
“There were three people inside the store. They’re all in mental shock,” he told CityNews. “There’s a teenage boy whose knee got scraped … other than that, they’re all just sort of shaken up, including the driver.”
According to Gill, a man was trying to park his car outside the business when he apparently hit the gas by mistake.
“The car pulled into a parking spot. First it was on the curb on the side, and then it was on the curb on the front. As soon as he was on the curb on the front, instead of hitting the brake pedal, he stepped on the accelerator, and that drove the car right into the store,” he explained.
“There’s a foot and a half of like … concrete slash drywall footing, but he went over that and then took some chairs and tables underneath him. But that sort of stopped his momentum and by then he took his foot off the accelerator.”
Gill says there’s significant damage inside the restaurant, noting there’s “oil everywhere,” as well as broken glass, tables, and chairs scattered around.
The man says he was not physically inside the store at the time. However, he tells CityNews his aunt and her staff were, adding they’re shaken up by what happened.
“I’m dealing with it, she doesn’t want to talk to anybody, is shaking a little bit. I’m trying to help her calm down and figure out how to clean the place and board the front for now,” Gill explained.
“They were quite close to the car.”
Langley RCMP Const. Prrabjit Chatha confirms police received reports of the crash Monday morning.
She tells CityNews “what we know so far is that the driver … was trying to park and accidentally drove right into the Quiznos.”
“It was an elderly person, there were injuries, and the driver of the vehicle had no injuries as well,” she explained.
Chatha says the RCMP’s case remains open, to make sure “ICBC gets included and involved.”
“Based on the situation, the circumstances, I think we’ll probably liaise with ICBC on how to move forward,” she said. “But it seems like … it was just an accident, from what’s been reported.”
‘I just hope the public can come out and support my aunt again’
Meanwhile, Gill says the car was removed from the business by 12:30 p.m. He adds the work is now focused on filing insurance claims and cleaning up the shop, which is expected to be quite the undertaking, given the oil.
Gill says his aunt has been running the Quiznos franchise for the last decade and had just recently renovated the business.
He’s hopeful the closure won’t last longer than a couple of weeks, though he notes that will depend on costs.
“I just hope the public can come out and support my aunt again, she’s been running this business here for over 10 years,” Gill said.
“She had just invested a lot into the store to update it … to an extent, she feels like it’s all gone to waste a little bit. Just hope the community can come out and rally behind her and support her when it’s all up and running.”
