Father Purposely Crashes Car Into Restaurant Killing Daughter And One Other, Police Say

A North Carolina man on Sunday has been charged with murder for deliberately crashing his vehicle into the building of a restaurant and killing two people, including his daughter, police said.

Roger Self, 62, was booked into Gaston County Jail where he is currently held without bond on two counts of first-degree murder. He made his first court appearance on Monday afternoon.

If convicted, Self would face life in prison without parole.

Self allegedly sat his family down at around noon at the Surf & Turf Restaurant in Bessemer City. He then got into his car and intentionally rammed it into the building. His daughter, Katelyn Self, an off-duty Gaston County Sheriff's Deputy, was killed in the crash.

Amanda Self, Roger Self's daughter-in-law, was also killed, according to WJZY, a Fox affiliate in Charlotte.

Amanda Self was married to Gaston County Police Officer Josh Self, who also sustained serious injuries from the incident. Roger Self’s wife, Diane, and Josh and Amanda Self's 13-year-old daughter also suffered injuries.

Several others, not including the Self family, were also hurt. All victims were flown to hospitals in Charlotte and Gastonia for treatment, according to WSOC, an ABC affiliate in Charlotte.

The Self family had been seated at the restaurant when Roger Self excused himself to go to the restroom. Moments later, the driver smashed through the restaurant’s front door at high speed crashing into the area where the suspect’s family was seated, waiter Brandon Wilson said.

"I saw a white Jeep just fly right past my face," Wilson told the Gaston Gazette. "It was so unreal. I saw chairs and tables and cups just flying everywhere. It just sounded like a tornado."

Katlyn Self, 26, worked for four years at the Gaston County Sheriff’s Office, where she started out as a detention officer.

Austin Rammell, the Self's family's pastor, told WSOC that Roger had been recently dealing with mental health problems. A motive was not immediately known.