One dead, three injured after driver crashes into popular Siler City restaurant

Officials say one person was killed and three others were injured after the driver of an SUV crashed into a restaurant in Siler City on Friday afternoon.

Posted 7:49 p.m. Oct 8, 2021 — Updated 3:47 a.m. Oct 9, 2021

SILER CITY, N.C. — Officials say one person was killed and three others were injured after the driver of an SUV crashed into a restaurant in Siler City on Friday afternoon.

The wreck happened at Johnson’s Drive-In on East 11th Street. There was visible damage to the front of the building. Officials said a driver lost control of the vehicle during the busy lunch rush. The driver is OK and cooperating with police.

Officials said the white SUV was headed west on US 64, veered into incoming traffic and continued to drive into the restaurant.

The vehicle had significant front-end damage and was towed from the scene. The fire department and other agencies were there at the restaurant around 4:15 as cleanup continued.

Officials have not released the names of anyone involved or the conditions of those who were hurt.

Located right off US 64, Johnson's Drive-In is a popular restaurant in the community, having been in business since 1946. A Facebook post from the restaurant's page noted "A car crashed into the front of the building earlier today. We are not yet clear of all the details. We will be closed for an undetermined amount of time. Please pray for those who were injured."

"Very chaotic," said Johnson's owner Carolyn Johnson Routh, who was in the back of restaurant when the crash happened. "It was scary but you just kind of go into self-preservation mode and go try to see what you can do to help."

"You never think something is going to happen like this on your property to people who you know, people that depend on you and trust you to feed them," Routh said.

Johnson's is know as the first restaurant along US 64 between Asheboro and Raleigh.

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