Ottawa Paramedics say a father and his two children were taken to hospital after a vehicle crashed through the front window of an east Ottawa restaurant Saturday night.

It happened at the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen on Montreal Road.

The 38-year-old father, his eight-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter were inside the restaurant at the time and received minor injuries.

Employees say the family was sitting in the corner booth next to the front window when the car entered the restaurant.

"He was eating there and the kids were crying, he was screaming," said Kenneth Lezada, a cashier. "Every customer they were running, I mean they were screaming and running, they went outside."

Another employee, Kamar Elali, said the father was bleeding from shattered glass.

Paramedics say the vehicle came to a rest about two feet from where people were sitting and that it could have been a lot worse had anyone been sitting at the tables by the windows.

Another patron, a 26-year-old woman, was treated on scene for cuts and bruises and released.

Randy Burns was driving by when he noticed several emergency crews.

"When we pulled up we saw the glass all over the vehicle, the chairs on the hood of the car and the light fixture resting on the hood of the vehicle," said Burns.

Mohammad Omar, a manager at Popeyes, said workers were in early Sunday morning repairing the restaurant.

"I'm trying to re-open as soon as possible for the customers. I don't want them saying we're closed for weeks. No - we're open today," he said.

Omar said he was thankful the injuries were minor.

Police are still investigating how this happened and said more information would be released Monday.