Cell phone video inside Panera Bread in North Andover captured the moments after the driver of a Cadillac Escalade crashed into the front entrance.
“I heard a scream behind me,” said State Senator Diana DiZoglio, who was in the parking lot and about to enter the restaurant.
“Right after the scream there was tire screeching and an SUV rolled out of the parking spot it was in,” she said.
The 78-year-old driver and her partner had just been shopping at Ace Hardware, when witnesses say she was trying to exit the parking lot.
“I started running after the vehicle and screaming for the vehicle to stop,” DiZoglio said.
The driver collided with a car which struck another car before the Escalade crashed into the restaurant.
“And we heard a huge thud,” said Alexandra Bonugli, who works at Supercuts next door. “We were like ‘what the hell was that,’ and we went out to see what happened.”
Several people from businesses in the mall rushed to the scene to make sure everyone was okay.
No one was injured, including the driver.
“She was in shock,” said Stephen Foucher, who works next door at Den Rock Wines & Spirits. “Not even a scratch on her.”
Five workers and a customer were inside Panera at the time.
Witnesses say it could have ended in disaster.
“It definitely could have been several deaths today,” Faucher said. “It was bad enough.”
Léon Kayserian was working in his sewing workshop and saw the accident happen.
He says his business could have been demolished.
“I am so lucky,” Kayserian said. “Thank God.”
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