Car smashes through dental office and into neighboring restaurant, Florida photos show
A Hyundai Sonata careened through a Florida dental office and into a restaurant next door, police said.
A 22-year-old woman was driving down a road in Clearwater around 7 a.m. on Jan. 21 when she crossed a median, went over a curb and entered the parking lot of a strip mall, the Clearwater Police Department told WTVT.
After crossing the parking lot, the driver hit the front door and windows of Greenberg Dental, police said in a Jan. 21 Facebook post.
The driver hit the dental office with such force that the car plowed through the office and hit the wall on the other side, police said.
The car burst through the wall and finally came to a stop inside the restaurant next door, Skyline Chili, police said in the post.
No one was injured in the crash, and the driver was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence, police said on Facebook.
“It could’ve been so much worse,” Amy Groene, owner of Skyline Chili, told WTVT. “We are unbelievably thankful there was no one in here. Everyone is fine. It’s property. It’s things. It stinks. It costs money, but we are so thankful none of our families were in here.”
Groene said the portion of the restaurant that was damaged is usually full during meal times, WTVT reported, and the restaurant hopes to be able to reopen by the end of the week.
Clearwater is about 20 miles west of Tampa.
This story was originally published January 22, 2024 at 12:33 PM with the headline "Car smashes through dental office and into neighboring restaurant, Florida photos show."
