CLACKAMAS, Ore. (KOIN) — A car ran into a Clackamas Red Robin restaurant on Friday, and sent the customers inside running. While no one was taken to the hospital from the scene, according to Clackamas Fire, the family now shares how the crash impacted them.
Sharnissa Secrett and her family were already having an emotional day when they sat down to eat at the Red Robin on Southeast 93rd Street. They were celebrating life one year after she delivered her stillborn daughter.
“We went to just be together as a family because we just had a hard year,” said Secrett. “Lost my mother and four months later, we lost our baby.”
Her daughter’s birthday cake still remains untouched. A car hit the restaurant—smashing the window right where they sat—before it could be cut. Secrett said her family barely escaped the impact.
“All I remember is I jumped up and said ‘get down!'” recalls Secrett. “It was pure chaos. People were screaming. My husband didn’t know if his leg was there. I’m doing a headcount, like where is Josh, where is—naming off my kids. And I just fainted.”
The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said a delivery driver accidentally hit the gas instead of the brakes which caused the car to run into the building. Debris hit a number of customers inside. Secrett’s family was left with several physical injuries, as well as emotional ones. Her son, Hassan, saw the whole event unfold.
“When people say you see your life flash before your eyes—it wasn’t even for me. I literally seen my family crushed because I saw headlights coming at the window,” said Hassan. “I’m watching the whole car come through the window, just struck, like boom.”
Now healing from the traumatic evening, they are trying to stay positive knowing just how fragile life is.
“By the grace, that car didn’t come all the way through,” said Secrett.
“I’m happy that my family made it out,” said Hassan. “Honestly, I tell you that ‘life flashing before your eyes’ thing is not even a game.”
Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office reported minor injuries from the crash. The driver was not cited for the incident.