An accident involving a Metro bus in D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood sent three people to the hospital and damaged the popular Ambar restaurant just before a busy holiday weekend.
WASHINGTON — An accident involving a Metro bus in D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood left three people injured and significantly affected a popular restaurant just before the Easter weekend.
According to DC Fire and EMS, the accident occurred shortly after 7 a.m. Saturday when a driver of a Chevy pickup truck ran a red light and collided with a Metro bus. The impact pushed the bus into the front of Ambar, a well-known Balkan restaurant on 7th Street Northwest.
Surveillance video appears to show the van entering the intersection on a red light before crashing into the bus, sending it careening toward the restaurant. Three women were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, authorities said. The bus driver was also injured but did not require hospitalization, according to Metro. D.C. police said the driver of the van was issued a citation but was not arrested.
No one was inside the restaurant at the time of the accident, preventing what neighbors said could have been a much more serious situation.
“It’s very scary,” said Nicole Shea, an ANC member from Shaw’s neighborhood. “It’s incredibly fortunate that no pedestrians or cyclists were hit.”
Photos from DC Fire and EMS show the bus became stuck deep in the restaurant’s dining room, with significant structural damage. Neighbors say the intersection is often busy, even in the early morning hours, with heavy foot traffic from residents walking, biking and walking their dogs.
“People really need to slow down,” said Janice, another resident.
The restaurant’s owner, speaking off-camera with WUSA9, said Ambar was fully booked for Easter weekend brunch, making the damage a major setback. However, it has other Ambar locations in Capitol Hill and Clarendon.
“It’s been a really tough time for neighborhood restaurants across the city,” another neighbor said.
Crews spent several hours working to get the bus out of the building. Authorities say the cause of the crash remains under investigation.