A fast food restaurant in the West End is re-opening its doors after a car crashed through its windows, injuring four Vancouver police officers last weekend.
The four officers were having dinner at Fatburger on Denman Street last Sunday when a BMW abruptly left the road and crashed into the building.
The officers were taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries that ranged from broken bones to chest pain. They are still recovering and remain off-duty.
Today, the restaurant is back in business, and all proceeds from the sale will go to the Vancouver Police Foundation in honour of the four officers.
One of the customers — Vicky — came down to Fatburger today for the first time since the accident happened.
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“I came simply to support the establishment and police foundation. It was kind of a shock for the whole community and just a terrible situation. I am glad everybody is fine.”
Steve Smith, the director of operations for Fatburger Canada, says they have a longstanding relationship with the VPD.
“We have a lot of their officers in the restaurant eating here. We are kind of their unofficial favourite burger place. So we thought we’d do a re-opening extravaganza,” says Smith.
He says donating the proceeds was a no-brainer.
“We are trying to take something bad that happened and make something positive out of it. It just seemed like the right thing to do.”
Smith says some staff members were badly shaken by the incident.
The joint had to shut down for five days to deal with the damage. The restaurant’s garage door was completely taken out by the accident, and it will take another four weeks to complete all renovations.
Police say a 30-year old woman was behind the wheel on the night of the accident.
While it’s still early in the investigation, police say speed or alcohol was not a factor.
Police will be looking into whether the female driver was using her cell phone at the time of the accident.
No charges have bee laid against the driver as the investigation continues.
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