A customer kicked a pregnant Long John Silver's employee in the stomach over a dispute regarding fried cornbread balls known as hush puppies, police said.

The incident occurred in a franchise of the fried seafood restaurant in Evansville, Indiana, about 4:20 p.m. Jan. 2, according to police.

Witnesses told police that a driver, a Black woman of unknown age, took a Red Toyota Camry into the restaurant's drive-thru and tried to order one hush puppy, according to a report from the Evansville Police Department.

The woman was upset to find out that the restaurant only sells hush puppies in orders of two. An order of two usually costs around $1.89. The driver then reportedly yelled a racist slur at the employee as she drove past the drive-thru window, police said.

hush puppies kick pregnant woman stomach
A customer kicked a pregnant Long John Silver's employee in the stomach over a dispute regarding fried cornbread balls known as hush puppies in Evansville, Indiana, police said. This photo illustration shows hush puppies, which are fried balls of spiced cornbread.pamela_d_mcadams/Getty

A second woman in the car began repeatedly calling the restaurant, demanding to speak to a manager, the police report said.

That woman, a Black woman age 30 to 40, then exited the vehicle and entered the restaurant. When employees told her to leave, she "began throwing things around," according to the police report. She then kicked a pregnant employee in the stomach and ran from the store, police said.

The pregnant employee told officers she was unsure if the woman knew she was pregnant before kicking her, police said. It's also unclear if the employee or her fetus sustained serious injury.

The employee chased the woman across the parking lot into the lot of the nearby IGA grocery store, then began recording video footage on her cell phone as the woman jumped into the car and sped away. Police weren't able to make out the vehicle's license plate in the video.

If apprehended, the woman will face a misdemeanor charge of battery causing injury.

Not all hits to the stomach will necessarily injure a child, according to Owen Montgomery, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Allegheny University of the Health Sciences.

"Mother Nature provides a safe and protected environment for a fetus, which floats in amniotic fluid in the amniotic sac, which in turn is protected by the muscles of both the uterus and the abdomen," Montgomery told Parents.com.

A seriously hard kick, punch or fall upon a pregnant belly can cause a medical issue called placental abruption. Such force can cause the placenta, which provides oxygen and nutrients to a growing fetus, to pull away from the uterine wall.

The condition can result in vaginal bleeding and contractions without any harm to the fetus. However, the fetus and mother can be harmed if severe bleeding, discharge and contractions occur up to 12 hours after experiencing such trauma.