A woman who was caught on video repeatedly ramming her car into a California taco restaurant was allegedly a former employee who had not worked at the eatery for four years, according to the owner’s daughter.
The incident happened at Tacos Reyes in Canoga Park around 7:30 p.m. Friday, ABC 7 reported.
Bystanders who witnessed the chaos began filming as others rushed over to police officers nearby to alert them.
As police officers arrived on the scene, they witnessed the suspect repeatedly backing into the establishment and ramming into it, according to the outlet.
They then surrounded her vehicle and used non-lethal rounds before pulling her out of the car and arresting her.
The suspect had allegedly destroyed everything inside the restaurant before she was taken into custody, according to the outlet.
She was hospitalized with minor injuries and later charged with felony vandalism.
No other injuries were reported.
An employee of the bar next door to the taco joint recalled the moment she had to rush customers and co-workers out of the building since they “share a wall” with the restaurant.
“She just was reversing and slamming into all the different walls,” Bailey Thompson told ABC 7. “So we share a wall with them, so she started slamming into our wall.”
A day later, the restaurant’s owner’s daughter, Antonia Reyes, told ABC 7 that the woman was a former employee and said she was shocked by what happened.
“Even when she left four years ago, it wasn’t on bad terms. It was on really good terms,” Reyes told the outlet.
“Her mom still works with us. She’s been working with us … maybe 8 plus years.”
Though her alleged act of vandalism destroyed the family’s business, Reyes still showed sympathy for the suspect.
“We do have so much love for the family. This is an unfortunate situation that happened and our heart breaks to her.”
The owner of Tacos Reyes, Miguel Reyes, told NBC Los Angeles that he was happy that no one inside his restaurant had been hurt during the incident.
“Everyone went out the emergency door, but thank God nothing happened,” the owner told the outlet. “That’s what I would have regretted if anything had happened to anyone.”
Miguel Reyes also confirmed the suspect was a former employee of the restaurant.
The restaurant will be closed for the foreseeable future.
Police told the outlet the incident remains under investigation.
