Shattered glass and twisted metal were left behind after a car crashed into the front of popular off-campus Chinese restaurant Hunan Wok on Friday.

This marks the second time in five years the restaurant has been subjected to vehicle-caused damage, with the first incident reported on by the Whit in March of 2012. 

Jon Lin, a former Glassboro resident whose family previously owned Hunan Wok, was surprised at how similar the circumstances of the recent accident were to the former.

“The crash was identical to what happened when we owned it,” he said.

In both instances, a car slammed through the glass front wall and into the adjacent counter area.

“Someone was trying to back out but drove forward instead,” Lin added, referring to the 2012 crash. 

No injuries were reported from the incident, according to 6abc.com.

Hunan Wok owner Li Chen described the incident firsthand.

“An older woman was trying to park and she went through the restaurant,” she said.

Samy Patel, owner of the Bagel Express next to Hunan Wok, was in his store’s cooler when the accident occurred.

“I heard a loud crash, and I went outside and saw the truck was inside the restaurant,” he said. “The driver was okay.”

Patel mentioned his relief that nobody was hurt, especially since Chen’s toddler often crawls around the front of Hunan Wok and interacts with guests while they wait for their food. Luckily, he was not in the front area when the car smashed through the wall.

An occasional Hunan Wok customer and sophomore health and exercise science major at Rowan, Christian Thompson, expressed his sentiments on the accident.

“I think that it is absolutely irresponsible for a driver to drive into a restaurant in front of a parking spot, especially to the point where it has to be pulled out by a tow truck,” he said. “How does that even happen?”

Despite the substantial damage, Chen believes the restaurant will reopen next week.

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