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Man crashes car into restaurant at busy beach plaza

Families lined up for coffee just a few feet away
Posted at 5:30 PM, Jul 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-04 17:30:51-04

A man has been sent to the hospital with serious injuries. He was hurt after ramming straight through a Sarasota restaurant, name the Lobster Pot on Ocean Boulevard.

With the Fourth of July being an extremely busy beach day, there was potential for many more injuries. Many witnesses are calling themselves “lucky” since the crash happened before the restaurant opened and just a couple of feet away from where families were waiting for their morning donuts and coffee.

None of them were hurt, but they were all startled. There was a loud boom from next door as Jessica Bear was working inside Meaney’s Mini Donuts and Coffee House.

“It like rattled inside, it was really scary,” said Bear. Panic and confusion quickly ensued. 

“A little girl was up here and she started sobbing, and people ran that way and I was like ‘What happened?!’” said Bear.

Rushing to the front of the Lobster Pot after hearing his father’s yells, Tony Medeiros found a white truck in the middle of his 17-year-old restaurant.

“He said ‘Ahh!’ just kind of surprised,” said Medeiros.

Bear stepped outside to see what all of the commotion and noise was about only to find the driver trying to make senseof what had just happened.

“‘I don’t know what happened it went black, I don’t know what happened,’ ”said the driver, according to Be a

The Florida Highway Patrol stated the 62-year-old driver had a “medical episode” in the official report.

Medeiros is just happy no one else was hurt. However, the crash will be putting a limp in Madeira’s business. 

“This whole week is like season, season number two we call it,” said Medeiros.

 “They are not going to make any money, I mean this is the holidays we’re going to make a lot of money this week,” said Bear.

Medeiros is still grateful. He believes the damage could have been much worse with a greater number of injuries.

“It all can be fixed wood, glass, paperwork,” he said.