Car crashes into restaurant

GULF SHORES, Ala. (WALA) - Patrons at a Gulf Shores restaurant got more than they bargained for Thursday afternoon when a driver lost control of her car and crashed through the wall into the dining room.

Lieutenant Alan Carpenter with the Gulf Shores Police Department said officers responded to the Sea Star Buffet around 4 p.m. Thursday.

“They found a car had gone through the front window of the restaurant and into the seating area,” Carpenter said.

Police say a 73-year-old woman was pulling into a parking space and thought she was applying the brakes when the car accelerated over the curb and through the wall of the restaurant. 

Pictures taken by a restaurant employee show what the scene looked like moments after the crash. 

When the late model white Cadillac came to rest, only the very back of it was visible from outside.  The car went completely inside the restaurant.  On the inside, tables were scattered and glass and bricks covered the floor.

Luckily, it happened at a time of day where it wasn’t very busy and nobody got hurt.  At 4 p.m. the restaurant is between the lunch and dinner crowds and there were only two customers in there at the time.

“Fortunately, the timing was just right during the day to where that there was very few people there at the time so tragedy averted fortunately,” Carpenter said.

The driver refused medical treatment at the scene and no charges have been filed. 

Police aren’t sure yet how fast the driver was going, but the accident is still under investigation.