A car crashed into B's Barbecue on Fifth Street Thursday, leaving a red vehicle almost entirely inside the beloved takeout window and sending the driver to the hospital. Two people inside the restaurant were examined at the scene.
Reflector reported that B's Barbecue's owners escaped serious injury after a car crashed into the takeout window. WITN reported that police identified the driver as 39-year-old Donna Swinson and said she was trying to turn from Fifth Street onto B's Barbecue Road when she overcorrected and crashed into the building. Swinson was transported to ECU Health Medical Center and was expected to recover. As WRAL also reported, the crash left the red car almost entirely inside the restaurant.
Inside B's at the time, two people were examined on-site. Judy Drach was treated there for a minor back injury after a board struck her, while Donna McLawhorn was released and did not require treatment, the Reflector's report notes. Police later cited Swinson for reckless driving and failure to maintain lane control, WITN and WRAL reported.
Crash Damages Restaurant Building
The crash caused structural damage to the restaurant, and the road was expected to remain closed.
Separately, police said weather was not believed to have been a factor in the crash, according to witn.com. Under North Carolina's reckless driving statute, G.S. 20-140(a), a person driving on a highway or public vehicular area “carelessly and heedlessly in willful or wanton disregard of the rights or safety of others” is guilty of the offense, according to the North Carolina General Assembly.
City Officials Pledge a Fast Path Back to Business
Greenville Mayor P.J. Connelly said city inspectors and staff had put together a plan to help B's reopen within the next few days, per witn.com's reporting. That remains a plan rather than confirmation the restaurant has reopened.
B's Barbecue carries deep local roots: the restaurant was started in 1977. For a spot with that kind of history, Thursday's crash was a jarring hit to one of Greenville's culinary landmarks.
