Car crashes into A.B. restaurant
A car smashed into Villa Mare Italian Restaurant at 99 The Plaza in Atlantic Beach that sent the driver, an unidentified man, to the hospital around 11 a.m. on Monday.
Villa Mare owner, John Vacchio said the car came off the bridge, came around the rotary and went straight onto the embankment before hitting a pillar in front of his restaurant. Vacchio and the landlord of the property, Martmios Gavalas, cleaned up the debris and removed the cracked pillar.
Jay Scheurer, co-owner of Metro Physical Therapy and Aquatics By the Sea, the business next door to Villa Mare, said the building shook when the car hit and he went outside to see what had happened.
“I saw a car beside the building and people came running from every direction,” Scheurer said. “I waited to go back inside until an ambulance arrived.”
As for Villa Mare restaurant, Vacchio said he hopes the accident won’t affect business today. “The building inspector cleared us to be open today,” he said. “So we hope to be open like normal at 4 p.m.”
The identity and condition of the driver were unknown as of press time.
