PUYALLUP, Wash. — A popular boba tea café in Puyallup has been forced to close for at least a month after a car crashed into it on Monday afternoon.
“I panicked when I got the call from my employee,” Melody Choe, the owner, said. Surveillance video shows that two women and a toddler were sitting at the table that was hit when the car came crashing through the windows. One of the women was able to jump out of the way and then grab the toddler but the other was stuck between the counter and the car.
“She was pinned for a couple seconds and then the car backed out a little bit, so there was a tiny little gap for her to get out and then we had some bystanders that were around here and they came to her rescue,” Choe said. Puyallup police said that an elderly woman was driving the car and accidentally hit the gas instead of the brake. The driver was not hurt or cited. The woman who was pinned was taken to the hospital but is now resting at home. The toddler is OK as well.
“I was just in shock,” Choe said. “And also very worried that the customer got hurt and there was a toddler there too.” Now, the café will be closed for at least four weeks and Choe has already had to turn customers away.
“I was shocked. I was just like coming home from work and I thought I’m going to get my regular like Thai tea and it’s closed it’s like what is going on here,” Amanda Nixon, a customer, said. “Apparently, a car ran through here yesterday.” However, Choe is not letting this stop her from making sure her employees are taken care of. She has started a GoFundMe to help pay their wages until she can reopen.
“My employees, they really depend on the income that they get from here because this is their only job,” Choe said. “So if they’re out of a job, if they’re out of this work, then there’s no way for them to make any money.”
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