A massive accident this evening at the intersection of 18th and U Streets and Florida Avenue NW had two female pedestrians fighting for their lives, a driver taken away in a police cruiser, a car totaled and a business with a destroyed storefront in Adams Morgan. At some point around 9 p.m. this evening, a white Dodge Caliber crashed into the front of the Keren Restaurant at 1780 Florida Avenue NW.

According to several witnesses on the scene, the vehicle was going at a high rate of speed and attempting to make a left hand turn off of 18th Street. The car then lost control, hit the triangular median, and crashed into the two pedestrians and into the front of the building. The vehicle was halfway into the restaurant. One witness, who works at the Virginia Market two doors down from the restaurant, told DCist that the two people who were hit by the car “looked young” and “in pretty bad shape.” He said that one of the pedestrians “wasn’t moving” after being hit.

The scene was messy and a scary aftermath of what must have been an incredibly violent collision. Glass, shattered from the impact, had been thrown as far as 30 feet away from the restaurant. There were pools of various liquids — blood, oil, water, unidentified fluids — pooling on the curb of Florida Avenue near the restaurant. Several witnesses were visibly shaken by what had they had seen, and many refused to talk about it.

The owner of the restaurant was inside at the time of the accident, but fortunately, the restaurant was closed.

There was a massive police, fire and EMS response to the scene. At any given moment there were anywhere between 25 and 30 authorities mulling around the vehicle, taking pictures and trying to figure out exactly what had happened. None of them we spoke with would go on the record to confirm anything regarding the accident or the condition of the pedestrians or anyone who was inside the restaurant. [ABC 7 is reporting that the two pedestrians were transported to the hospital, one in critical condition, the other in serious condition.] Streets had been closed between 17th and U Streets to 18th — Florida and 18th in the immediate vicinity were also blocked to traffic.

UPDATE: The driver — a female who was the only person in the car at the time of the accident — has been arrested. Charges as of this posting are pending.