FORT WORTH -- Robert Montez is a regular at the Hernandez restaurant. "My wife rolled me out of bed at 4 o'clock this morning. Says you know what? Look at this on TV. Your favorite place to go eat, somebody went through it," said Montez. So he came down to help fix it, after a carload of teens nearly destroyed it.

There were three 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old in the car when it slammed into the corner of the Hernandez restaurant, a little past midnight.

Thick metal poles kept the car from going right through the building. The teens got out in time and were taken to hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. Their car burst into flames, scorching part of the restaurant, and leaving workers to pick up the mess left behind.

Around 11 p.m. Tuesday night, Sansom Park Police tried to stop the car thinking the driver was drunk. When the car sped off, police followed, and caught up with the teens here when they crashed.

An investigator says officers did not pursue at a high rate of speed even though the suspects were going very fast. Inside the car they found marijuana and two purses stolen from cars in Saginaw.

The same family has owned the Hernandez restaurant for 32 years. It’s a Fort Worth tradition for families like the Montez's, who just want to see it open once again this weekend.

Corner windows shattered and part of a wall came down, but it's open only on weekends, and the owner expects it to be ready by Friday.

E-mail jdouglas@wfaa.com