A man is undergoing surgery this morning after being seriously injured when a taxi ploughed through a McDonald's store in Wellington early this morning.
The taxi, operated by Amalgamated Taxis, crashed into the dining area of the Taranaki Street McDonald's about 2.20am.
• Taxi drives into McDonald's restaurant
A 49-year-old man inside the restaurant was seriously injured after the counter fell on his leg, trapping him.
He was in a stable condition at Wellington Hospital and would undergo surgery this morning, hospital spokeswoman Raylene Bateman said.
Although the crash badly damaged the fast-food outlet, the mess had been cleared up and the restaurant was open this morning, a McDonald's Taranaki Street employee said.
McDonald's spokeswoman Kate Porter said the company's first priority was the injured customer.
McDonald's was liaising with police to contact the injured man and providing police with footage from the incident.
Staff were shocked and there had been considerable damage, with a "significant amount" of broken glass, she said.
Senior Sergeant Anita Dixon of Wellington police said "something terrible" happened to the driver, causing the crash.
She was unable to give further details of what had happened.
The driver would not face criminal charges as the crash was "clearly an accident", although traffic charges may be laid, she said.
A man who identified himself as the owner of Amalgamated Taxis and gave his name only as "Channary" told NZPA he had no details of the incident and was trying to find out which of his drivers had crashed.
