A car drove through the front window of J & J Fish and Chicken, 319 S. Harlem Ave., on Jan. 14 around 5:02 p.m. According to Forest Park Police Chief Tom Aftanas, the 61-year-old woman driving the vehicle wasn’t sure exactly what happened when she ran over the parking block in the lot in front of the restaurant, hitting the front of the store and shattering the window. It is believed that she was attempting to park and confused the accelerator with the brake, but the driver showed no sign of impairment.
No injuries were reported to the driver or anyone inside the restaurant at the time.
The owner of J & J Fish and Chicken, Mohammad Omari, was in the back of the restaurant at the time of the crash and reported that there were no customers present.
“It was a huge noise,” said Omari. “Like a bomb.” He described the car as being half inside the shop. Omari said that although the window was destroyed and is currently boarded up, there was no internal damage to the store, and he is open for business.
