Tractor-Trailer Crashes Into Upstate New York Restaurant


One person is dead and at least seven people have been injured after a tractor-trailer hauling cars crashed into an upstate New York restaurant, USA Today reports.

The incident took place Friday afternoon in Ithaca, a city in central New York that is home to both Cornell University and Ithaca College. According to witnesses, the out of control tractor-trailer didn’t sound its horn before slamming into Simeon’s, a local restaurant. The incident led to at least one death, and while the name of the victim has yet to be released by authorities, the owner of Simeon’s told local ABC affiliate WSYR-TV that the woman killed was a bartender at the restaurant who has a 14-month-old child.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, who sustained superficial injuries in the crash, is said to be cooperating with authorities, who are still investigating the cause of the accident. According to 26-year-old pastry chef Lindsey Pou, who witnessed the incident, she heard neither a horn nor screeching breaks from the tractor-trailer immediately before the fatal crash. Pou also said that a group of construction workers standing in the tuck’s path narrowly missed being injured in the crash.

The driver of the tractor-trailer suffered minor injuries in the crash
The driver of the tractor-trailer is cooperating with police after suffering minor injuries in the crash

After the tractor-trailer crashed into the building, a small fire started in the bar area of Simeon’s but was contained. The front corner of the building collapsed during the crash, and while Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick confirmed that the occupants of the apartments over Simeon’s were not home when the crash occurred, there is still a danger that the building may collapse.

The incident is far from the first tractor-trailer crash to make headlines in recent weeks. As The Inquisitr previously reported, actor Tracy Morgan was severely injured in a crash that involved a tractor-trailer on the New Jersey Turnpike. While Morgan survived and is recovering, the crash claimed the life of comedian Jimmy Mack.

Ithaca Police Department Public Information Officer Jamie Williamson praised the community’s response to the crash while holding a press conference, MailOnline reports, pointing out the way that bystanders rushed to help after the accident.

“You know, that’s one of the beautiful things about Ithaca is folks coming together,” Williamson said, adding “in times of grief, in times of emergency — you know, in any time where there’s somebody that needs help, Ithaca is first and foremost in line to help that person.”

There is no word on when the tractor-trailer or its cargo of cars extending into the street following the crash will be removed from the scene.

[Images via MailOnline]

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