One passenger was injured, but no one inside the restaurant was hurt

WOODLAND — The driver of a Tesla sedan says the vehicle malfunctioned Sunday afternoon, surging across the sidewalk and into the front of a Subway restaurant in Woodland.



A Tesla plowed into the front window of a Subway restaurant in Woodland on Sunday. No one inside the restaurant was injured. Photo by Mike Schultz

The accident happened shortly after 4 p.m., according to a post on the Facebook page for Woodland Police Department. A passenger in the Tesla suffered minor injuries and was taken to the hospital after being treated at the scene.



One woman who posted a comment on the Woodland PD Facebook page said it “sounded like a bomb went off,” and then she was covered with glass from the shattered window.



One passenger inside a Tesla that crashed into a Woodland Subway restaurant had minor injuries on Sunday afternoon. Photo by Mike Schultz

“Thank God he came in at an angle so the concrete wall stopped the momentum of the car,” wrote Celeste Gaspard. “If it had gone straight through the glass store front, I’m not sure I’d still be here.”



Jennifer Rogers, who manages the Subway location on Pacific Avenue responded, thanking Gaspard for helping her employee to remain calm.



Customers say the angle this Tesla struck a Woodland Subway restaurant on Sunday likely prevented injuries to people inside the building. Photo by Mike Schultz

“I am so truly thankful you and my employee are safe and alive, and those in the car,” wrote Rogers.



The driver, who did not wish to be identified, told officers a malfunction in the Tesla’s self-driving feature may have led to the crash. Woodland Police confirmed that drugs or alcohol were not a factor.

An employee begins cleaning up the mess after a car slammed into the front of a Subway restaurant in Woodland on Sunday. Photo by Mike Schultz

The driver of this Tesla says the vehicle malfunctioned, causing it to crash into the front of a Woodland Subway restaurant on Sunday. Photo by Mike Schultz



