Disturbing footage shows dine-and-dash couple run over restaurant manager with car
Multiple sources reported how two individuals who dined at a Los Angeles restaurant on Monday, January 3, were caught on video striking the manager of the restaurant with their car following the meal.
The incident took place at the Ragin Cajun Café in Redondo Beach, California, where the duo ordered around $90 worth of items from the menu, including premium items such as steak and lobster. They reportedly sat at the seats furthest from the restaurant on the outdoor patio for about 40 minutes before going inside to get to-go containers and the check, owner Lisa Hodges told KTLA.
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“[The manager] went out to clean the table and grab the check, and their checkbook was empty,” Hodges told the outlet. “That’s when he saw them driving off in their car.”
Hodges said the manager, who has not been identified, jumped over a hay-bale barrier and stood in front of the vehicle while asking the couple to pay their bill. The owner said the manager was not touching the car or being confrontational. They allegedly told him to come to the side of the car so they could pay, but when he refused, the driver stepped on the gas and hit the manager. “They could have reversed. They could have moved around him, but they didn’t,” she said. “They chose to hit the gas and hit him — and they hit him hard.” Hodges added, “They turned so quickly, that he fell off … onto the sidewalk."
Security camera footage posted by the Ragin Cajun Café on Facebook shows a red sedan accelerating and striking the manager. According to Hodges, the man was carried about 30 feet on the hood of the vehicle and fell off when the driver made a sharp turn to get on the Pacific Coast Highway. The owner noted how the manager "was very shaken up." He sustained bruises around his knees, and his ankle and wrist were very sore, but “thankfully he didn’t hit his head," she said.
Hodges said “dining and dashing” had become commonplace of late, with several instances of people using fraudulent credit cards. That said, Monday's incident came during a particularly challenging time for the restaurant industry that saw patrons topping less or being flustered by Covid-19 guidelines. Hodges said the manager had been among the family-run restaurant's key employees “throughout all the craziness.”
“This is just one of many, many things you deal with in the restaurant industry,” Hodges said. She noted, however, that she was grateful for an outpouring of support from the community. “You’ve just got to keep moving forward. You just have to stay positive,” she added. Meanwhile, the dine-and-dash pair was identified only as a White woman and a Black man in their mid-20s. Police described the suspect vehicle as an older model red sedan, which could be either a Chrysler or a Ford. Speaking to KTLA, Redondo Police said they were still working to identify the suspects.
If you or anyone you know has information related to the incident, you are urged to contact the Redondo Beach Police Department at (310) 379-2477.