MIAMI (WSVN) - Inspectors are expected to pay a visit to a Miami restaurant Monday, to determine if it’s safe after a car came crashing in over the weekend.
Five people sustained minor injuries after a driver came crashing into an Argentinian restaurant in Miami, Saturday evening.
Witnesses said the driver of a Mercedes-Benz sedan came right off of Northwest Seventh Street and plowed into La Patagonia Argentina Steakhouse, located at 4802 N.W. 7th St., at around 5:30 p.m.
Pictures from inside the restaurant show the car all the way inside after striking an inner wall. The photos show the sedan’s airbags deployed, which prevented the driver from getting seriously injured.
Sonia Sanjuan, the driver of the car, told 7News she believes one of her tires blew, causing her to lose control of the vehicle. “A lady … told me, ‘I saw what happened. Your tire is broken. The tire is blown,'” she said. “That’s what made me lose control, because I didn’t have problems with the brakes.”
Miami Fire Rescue said one male customer was taken to the hospital as a precaution after he pushed his wife out of the path of the oncoming car, then fell trying to get away.
Paramedics treated four other people, a mix of customers and employees, at the scene.
A water pipe was broken as a result of the impact, flooding the floor of the restaurant.
7News cameras captured cleanup efforts outside La Patagonia, late Saturday night. The gas inside the restaurant was turned off to keep everyone safe.
The restaurant’s owner said he’s grateful the accident happened before the dinner rush. “I’m still shaking, in shock,” said Carlos Castiglia. “If it was an hour earlier or — this happened around 5:30 — usually, like around 7, 8, we have like 70 or 80 people right here, and it would have been like a big tragedy. I mean, I’m sure it would have been devastating.”
The Mercedes was later towed from the scene.
La Patagonia Argentina remained closed on Monday.
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