A Habersham County man is counting his blessings after he and others sitting at a table inside Moe’s in Dahlonega narrowly missed being hit by an out-of-control truck that drove into the building at lunch Monday.
Jonathan Franklin shared his experience with AccessWDUN.
“We were sitting in the corner booth, about two feet from where it came in the wall,” Franklin said. “We heard a guy jump up and holler, ‘Look out!’ That’s a nice way to put it. As soon as he hollered, everybody sort of looked and then the truck came flying in the building.”
In a social media post, Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard said the truck struck six other vehicles before careening into the restaurant on Morrison Moore Parkway during the busy lunch hour. The building also houses Dunkin Donuts.
“We all stood up and started going toward the vehicle to see if the guy was all right,” Franklin said. “The driver’s window was already in the building. We looked in the vehicle and I could tell he was conscious. He was moving his hands.”
An employee began to yell at those inside to cut the water off, then began to ask about cutting gas and power before telling everyone to evacuate the building.
“So we all got out of the building and that’s when it really hit home when you looked back up the road and all you see is cars everywhere,” Franklin said. “It really hit home how fast the guy was traveling when he hit. There weren’t even any black marks.”
Franklin said when he got outside it also made him realize just how close he and others came to being hurt.
“It was lifechanging,” Franklin said. “You don’t really know how close you’ve come until you look from the outside looking in, and realize three more feet and he would have taken out everybody at our table. It was amazing that nobody ended up hurt worse than what they did.”
Jarrard’s post stated a number of people were injured, and in it he asked people to keep those involved in their prayers.
Franklin said Monday’s wreck gave him reason to think more when he goes into a restaurant.
“It makes you think about where you sit in a restaurant now,” Franklin said. “I never thought about it. Somebody could come through right here.”
There is no word yet from the Georgia State Patrol what caused the crash, those involved in the wreck and the extent of injuries.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/8/570517/developing-story-7-vehicles-multiple-injuries-in-crash-at-dahlonega-restaurant