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A Mercedes-Benz G55 crashed into a Springfield Panera Bread restaurant on Thursday.
Karen Craigo | SBJ
A Mercedes-Benz G55 crashed into a Springfield Panera Bread restaurant on Thursday.

Vehicle crashes into Panera near MSU

Posted online

A Springfield Panera Bread restaurant near Missouri State University was damaged Thursday when a vehicle crashed into it.

Cris Swaters, public affairs officer for the Springfield Police Department, said a black 2015 Mercedes-Benz G55 was traveling southbound on National Avenue and failed to turn onto eastbound Elm Street when it hit the 500 S. National Ave. restaurant. The vehicle went fully inside the restaurant through a wall and window on the west side of the building, a Springfield Business Journal reporter observed.

Swaters said the damage to the building appears to be cosmetic. The driver of the vehicle was uninjured, and two restaurant patrons were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, she said.

"Impairment is not suspected to be a factor in this crash," Swaters said via email, noting officers responded to the accident at 4:28 p.m. “The circumstances of the crash are still under investigation.”

The accident caused northbound traffic on National between Cherry and Elm streets to be closed for a short time, according to the Springfield Police Department.

The restaurant is one of five Panera Bread cafes in Springfield. The location involved in the crash is not currently listed on Panera's website. Its Facebook page indicates the store is temporarily closed.

Calls and emails to Panera officials were not immediately returned by deadline.

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sheliaofficeemail@yahoo.com

My husband left our home in the1300 block of e. walnut to go to the wal mart on glenstone near bennett to pick up a prescription and milk. I was watching channel 10 news and panera was the 1st. news. i was pleased that he was going on glenstone and not national. but he took firever. i assumed their was another accident on glenstone. When he finally did come home he shared that walnut at glenstone was so backed up that he turned and took fremont south to catalpa. When he turned onto catalpa. it too was backed up on glenstone. But there is a light there at glenstone and he made it thru and did his business. Since i was watching the news he wandered if there had been an accident at the rail road track. i shared it was national and elm into panera. He waited to watch the 6:00 news and of course the accident was top story. He marveled that last saturday we had met friends for dinner there and had sat in that same spot before we went to hammons. I have often wondered why that building had never been hit before. You can sit in the booth and see people you know stuck in traffic and have a conversation w/ them. There is nothing like living in center city. i would not live any where else.

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