Customer dies when SUV crashes into restaurant, cops say. ‘Sounded like an explosion’

A 52-year-old man died after a driver crashed an SUV into a Missouri restaurant, police say.

The crash happened just before noon Monday, Aug. 26, at The Rice House in Florissant, a suburb of St. Louis, according to the Florissant Police Department.

Kenny Truong, the head chef and owner of the restaurant, said the victim was a regular customer who was waiting for his family to arrive, KSDK reported.

Police said the victim was inside the restaurant when he was struck by the vehicle. He died after being taken to a hospital.

“I’m just so struck right now,” Truong told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I don’t have the words to express the pain that I have for his family.”

It’s unclear what caused the driver to crash into the building, police said. The driver was not injured.

Marc Wallace, a barber at a neighboring business, said the driver said her car malfunctioned, according to KTVI.

“From what we heard… the car somehow got in drive, and it accelerated from this parking spot and drove through the restaurant,” Truong told KTVI.

Florissant police said they were continuing to investigate the crash.

“It sounded like an explosion,” Wallace said in an interview with the Post-Dispatch. “I didn’t expect to see that.”

Truong told KSDK the restaurant will have to close for repairs, saying it will “be a little setback financially.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2024 at 6:40 AM with the headline "Customer dies when SUV crashes into restaurant, cops say. ‘Sounded like an explosion’."