GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A surreal scene unfolded at Fresca Trattoria in Gwinnett County when a car unexpectedly barreled through the dining room over the weekend.
“It was just the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen,” Lisa Myers, one of the owners, told Channel 2′s Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson.
Surveillance video shows how several customers rushed to get out of the way as the sedan plowed into the upscale Italian restaurant on Rockbridge Road, narrowly avoiding disaster.
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“I know I screamed ‘Oh my God’ several times,” Myers recalled.
She was just feet away from the impact when she saw the out-of-control vehicle head straight into the dining area.
Fresca Trattoria, which opened in January near Stone Mountain, prides itself on its scratch-made Italian cuisine and has become a local favorite.
After calling 911 around 3 p.m. on Saturday, Myers spoke to the driver, who explained that she was trying to park in a parking space and had accidentally pressed the gas instead of the brake—or perhaps both.
The Fresca team spent several hours boarding up the window and cleaning the dining room, thankful that the car hadn’t crashed into the kitchen, which could have jeopardized operations.
“There’s nothing like us in the area,” Myers said. “We are completely by scratch.”
While insurance will cover part of the cost of repairs, the restaurant will have to cover the rest, which is expected to be in the thousands.
For Myers and her team, community support will be essential as they recover from the damage.
“We hope that turns into people wanting to eat because we’re going to need to cover a lot of this damage,” she said.
The owners have launched an online fundraising campaign to help with immediate repair costs.
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