Photo by:wsvn
The driver of a pickup truck plowed into a pub at a shopping plaza in Margate, and officials said the building is now an unsafe structure.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies and Margate Fire Department units responded to the scene of the crash at Jerzy’s Sports Pub, located near West Atlantic Boulevard and Northwest 66th Avenue, at around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Fire officials said the driver of a Ford F-150 pulled into the parking lot of the plaza and tried to park away from the business when she hit the accelerator by mistake, causing a spin-out, and went through the glass door of the business.
Adam Lino, who works at the nearby Atlantic Barbershop, said he heard the crash.
“I heard the truck going through the whole bar,” said witness.
Surveillance video captured the truck going into the bushes, then making a U-turn and barreling into the front of the building.
“She ran through, came through the bushes, right? And all of a sudden just wanted to play pool pretty fast, you know what I mean?” said Lino.
A man who works at the smoke shop located right next to the bar described that he saw.
“I heard a car going off-road. They crashed into that bush over there, and they looked like they were losing control, and they decided to run into that bar next door,” he said.
7Skyforce hovered above the scene after the truck came to rest at the back of the pub.
Several witnesses identified the driver of the truck a woman in a green and white dress at the scene.
7News cameras later captured the damage inside of the business, including the door frame, which lay on the floor.
Fortunately, no one was injured.
At around 4:30 p.m., Skyforce showed the vehicle after it was removed from the building, which sustained extensive damage.
As for the truck, its front windshield was shattered, the hood was smashed in, and part of the front dangled from the rest of the vehicle.
The woman who witnesses said was the driver looked shocked when her truck was pulled from the business and towed away.
“Yeah, she was very shocked. I mean, you looked shocked when you walked in there, too,” Lino told a 7News crew.
Jerzy’s Sports Pub has been open for 21 years. The owner, Jerzy Oles, told 7News said the driver of the truck is no stranger.
“She’s my customer. That is what happened, you know?” he said.
Oles said he was not at the pub at the time of the crash.
“The bartender called me, you know and said, ‘I see it on the video, the car is inside,’” he said.
Oles said it’s going to take at least several weeks to make repairs.
“I’ll be open, you know, maybe a couple of weeks, because we need the electricity, we need to [fix], you know, windows, door, everything,” he said.
Building inspectors from Margate arrived at the scene and surveyed the business.
The crash is particularly tough for Oles because the Paramount+ show “Bar Rescue” featured his business, taking over the bar and renovating it.
Now they’re left with no choice but to clean up the mess on their own and start over.
“Thank God nobody’s hurt,” said Oles.
Wednesday night, cameras showed the entrance to the pub boarded up with plywood.
Fire officials said the business is currently considered an unsafe structure. An “unsafe building” sign was placed on a door at the business.
Speaking with 7News off-camera, the driver of the truck declined to comment on the incident.
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Source: wsvn
