At approximately 12:20 a.m. on Saturday morning, a taxi driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed into Solly’s Tavern at 11th and U Streets NW, injuring at least six people.

“The building shook,” said bartender Chris Frashier bar owner John “Solly” Solomon, who was upstairs when the cab collided with the east side of the building. “The tires were spinning because the driver’s foot was still on the pedal, and it kicked up smoke into the bar.”

Although it was not immediately clear to patrons inside the bar what had happened following the incident, eyewitnesses and bar-goers described the evacuation as orderly. According to emergency medical services personnel on the scene, six people were transported to area hospitals. Complete information about the nature of the injuries sustained was not available. EMS personnel said that there were no life-threatening injuries. Metropolitan Police Department officials declined to perform a major crash investigation, which would be necessary if injuries had proven more serious.

“Everyone sitting in the window [where the cab hit the building] was pushed toward the bar,” said another Solly’s bartender. Other patrons sustained cuts, scrapes, and bruises, he said.

Police and EMS personnel near Solly’s could not confirm the cause of the accident. Several eyewitnesses, including one bar staffer, said that the driver appeared to be experiencing seizure-like physical symptoms in the driver’s seat immediately after the accident. A taxi driver on the scene who did not wish to be named said that he knew the driver to be named Affi and said that he has a history with seizures, including one incident behind the wheel.

Police blocked off traffic for two hours after the accident and planned to keep a car outside the building until the morning.

CORRECTION: DCist misidentified Solly’s bartender Chris Frashier in its original reporting on this story. The story has been changed to attribute Mr. Frashier’s quote correctly to him.

Photo used with permission from BecksAtFlickr