POMPANO BEACH, Fla. -- A car crashed through a busy eatery in Pompano Beach Wednesday afternoon, critically injuring a customer inside the restaurant.

The crash happened at the Bagel Snack Restaurant & Del, 1235 South Pompano Parkway.

According to police, 76-year-old Lessie Bryan crashed her Toyota Solara through the front of the restaurant.

"All of a sudden we heard a crash and chairs went flying, tables went flying," a witness told Local 10's Sasha Andrade.

The injured customer was identified as 65-year-old Dr. Daniel Brown. He is in critical condition at North Broward Medical Center.

The out-of-control vehicle sent a customer into the air.

"He was sitting right at the window. He was pushed probably 10 feet," a restaurant customer said.

Dr. Thomas Roth, who works next door to the restaurant, rushed in to help.

"I just checked his vitals to make sure he was OK. He was responsive, but he was just in a lot of pain," Roth said.

Roth also said that Bryan told a story that she was being hijacked at the time of the crash.

Another witness said a man who was in the passenger seat left the scene after the crash.

"He got out of the car and he walked to another car at the end of this plaza and got out of here," he said.

Investigators looked into the claims of a possible carjacking, but said Bryan's story changed drastically at the hospital.

"Initially, there was talk that she was an attempted robbery victim and that she was thwarting the robbery," said Broward Sheriff's Office Spokesman Mike Jachles. "However, the story changed several times. She might have been an intended victim for a scam."

Bryan was taken to North Broward Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.