At least 14 injured after vehicle crashes into New Hampshire restaurant

LACONIA, N.H. — More than a dozen people were hospitalized on Sunday after a vehicle crashed into a central New Hampshire restaurant, authorities said.

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Update 7:58 p.m. EDT July 2: According to a news release from the Laconia Fire Department, “an estimated 14 patients” were taken to area hospitals. An additional 20 people were evaluated by personnel at the scene “and did not require medical transport.”

One person was hospitalized with significant lower leg injuries; other people taken to hospitals were treated for “lacerations, contusions and other non-life-threatening injuries.”

“There were a lot of people inside due to it being lunchtime and a holiday weekend,” Laconia police Capt. Chad Vaillancourt said in a statement. “The great response from our mutual aid partners allowed us to help many injured people in a short amount of time.”

Original report: According to a Facebook post by the Laconia Police Department, “six or seven” people were injured and about “four to five” people were hospitalized after the vehicle crashed into the Looney Bin Bar and Grill in Laconia.

The people hospitalized had injuries that were not considered to be life-threatening, WFXT-TV reported.

“We are praying for all involved,” Belknap County Sheriff Bill Wright said in a Facebook post.

According to Laconia police Chief Matt Canfield, a vehicle was pulling out of the Funspot video arcade and preparing to turn left.

“There was another vehicle in the center lane, and the vehicle pulling out of Funspot didn’t see a third vehicle coming, causing a collision and causing the third vehicle to go into the restaurant,” Canfield wrote on Facebook.

Police said the restaurant building is stable, and the road will reopen “soon,” WFTX reported.