Over a dozen injured when car crashes into Virginia pub, police say

ARLINGTON, Va. — More than a dozen people were injured -- four of them critically -- after a vehicle crashed into a northern Virginia pub and restaurant, according to authorities.

The crash at the Ireland’s Four Courts establishment, which happened early Friday evening, also caused a fire, which was soon extinguished, media outlets reported.

Authorities said eight people were taken to the hospital, while six others were treated at the scene and released, according to the Arlington County Police and the county fire department.

Mary Reilly, who works at the pub, said she was in the back of the building when “we all heard a bang, an explosion, so I just turned around and I saw all the debris coming towards the back of the pub."

About 30 patrons and staff members were in the pub at the time, and as “pure panic broke out,” Reilly said, people rushed out the back.

Arlington police spokeswoman Ashley Savage didn’t immediately provide details about the cause of the crash, which happened on busy Wilson Boulevard, a few miles from the District of Columbia line. The driver was among those taken to the hospital, Savage said.

While the building remained structurally sound, Savage said, it wasn’t clear when the pub would reopen.