Car Crashes through Moe’s Southwest Grill

NORMAL – At 11:24 this morning, the Normal Fire Department responded to a call from Moe’s Southwest Grill on Bradford Lane in Normal. A Toyota RAV4 crashed through the front entrance of the business, causing serious damage and injuring patrons. Normal Fire Department Public Information Officer Matt Swaney described the scene.

“When we arrived we discovered that the vehicle had actually driven all the way through the dining room. We had multiple people injured within the business.”

A managing partner of Moe’s, Ken Solem, says he was on the other side of town when his phone rang.

“I got a call about 11:20 that a car had gone through and driven into the building. I figured it had bumped in and, y’know, broken the windows or whatever. And she said, ‘no, it’s much worse than that.’”

Solem was not present at the time of the event, but he says he was able to see what transpired with Moe’s security camera footage.

“I couldn’t believe how far the car came in. We have a camera system so we went back, we played it, and we watched her drive in. It was like she was just pulling in and then all of the sudden it was like a jet took off.”

The structural damage done to the property is severe, but miraculously, there were no casualties in the crash. Three people were transported to BroMenn Medical Center in Bloomington while another was evaluated in an ambulance. None of the injuries are expected to be life-threatening.

“It was unfortunate for the business that it happened, but it’s fortunate that it happened at 11:30 rather than 12:30, or the middle of their lunch rush, so they didn’t have a full dining room at the time,” said Swaney.

Moving forward, the fire department is looking to secure the business to ensure that it is structurally sound, while the police are focusing on finishing up the investigation. It is currently believed by authorities that the driver, who was uninjured in the crash, did not act with malicious intent.

Zach Wilson and Scott Wrzala contributed to this story.