Chain-reaction crash into Warwick restaurant ruptures gas line

Everyone inside Sam's Inn had to be evacuated, and the restaurant remains closed

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A car crashed into several vehicles Saturday afternoon, pushing them into the back of a restaurant in Warwick, Rhode Island, and causing a gas line to rupture in the process.

Warwick police responded around 2:40 p.m. to Sam’s Inn, located at 2227 West Shore Road, for the reported incident, NBC10 Boston affiliate WJAR reports.

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According to WJAR, police say a 24-year-old woman was driving a Lexus when she struck an occupied vehicle in front of a Shell gas station on West Shore Road before striking an unoccupied vehicle in the parking lot of the gas station and then continuing into the parking lot of Sam's Inn.

There, police say the Lexus then hit two more unoccupied vehicles before colliding with the restaurant's refrigeration unit.

The other drivers did not report any significant injuries, according to police. The Lexus driver was taken to Kent County Memorial Hospital as a precaution, WJAR reports.

"Everybody is so lucky that nobody died here today," one eyewitness told WJAR.

Everyone inside Sam's Inn had to be evacuated, and the restaurant remains closed, WJAR reports.

Rhode Island Energy crews responded to deal with the ruptured gas line and were forced to cut open a large section of Yates Road to make repairs.

It's unclear if any charges will be filed against the Lexus driver. Police haven't said what caused her to hit so many vehicles.

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