Firework blasts hole in restaurant wall, sends worker scrambling

A Deerfield Beach restaurant worker sitting at a table doesn’t seem to notice at first that someone tossed a firework inside as it lands against a wall and goes off.

But then, a cascade of sparks suddenly fills the restaurant.

Surveillance video released by the Broward Sheriff’s Office Wednesday shows the worker, identified by deputies as a 20-year-old woman, scrambling away from the table as smoke settles across the dining room.

The incident at the Wendy’s restaurant, 355 W. Hillsboro Blvd., happened shortly before 10 p.m. on July 5.

Detectives think a band of teens or young males, perhaps eight to 10 strong, were responsible for tossing the firework into the restaurant. Some were wearing T-shirts and others were shirtless as they ran away through the Wendy’s parking lot, the Sheriff ’s Office said.

According to investigators, the firework made a hole about 7 inches wide at the base of a wall.

No one inside the Wendy’s was hurt, but Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Joy Oglesby said the situation could been much worse.

“Anytime when you have something exploding, lots of things can go wrong,” she said. “It could have set the restaurant on fire or it could have burned the woman by the door. It definitely could have been a situation where we had injuries or deaths.”

The Sheriff ’s Office asks anyone with information about this case to contact Detective Devoune Williams at 954-321-4235. Tips can also be made anonymously to Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477 or at browardcrimestoppers.org. have