Spring Garden restaurant in Pana was forced to close early Monday evening after a vehicle driven by a juvenile male slammed into the building. 

Hart Media Group reached out and spoke to Pana Police Chief Daniel Bland, and Chief Bland stated that the 16-year-old driver claims that his vehicle malfunctioned, resulting in the car speeding up instead of braking. According to Chief Bland, three individuals were transported due to injuries, and the injuries were not life-threatening.

Chief Bland said that they are investigating this further, and currently they have not found any maintenance or equipment issues on the vehicle that hit the building. The investigation is still ongoing to get to the real reason that caused the vehicle to slam into the side of the restaurant. 

Due to cleanup and repair work, Spring Garden closed for the remainder of the evening on Monday, but returned to normal operations as of Wednesday under its normal business hours of 6 AM to 9 PM.

No additional information on the crash or the extent of injuries has been released at this time. The identities of the driver and the two inside the restaurant have also not been released.

Should any more information be received, you’ll find it at taylorvilledailynews.com.