SUV Plows Into Doral Sushi Restaurant
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DORAL (CBSMiami) -- A pre-dinner time scare at a Doral sushi restaurant when the driver of an SUV plowed right through the front of the restaurant on Monday.
A surveillance camera captured when a Range Rover crashed into the front of Sokai Sushi Bar, located at NW 107th Avenue and 74th Street, shortly before 4:00 p.m.
Manager Andres Uribe was a bit shaken up over it.
"It was really bad. Actually scary," he said.
He said the man behind the wheel of the SUV had just finished eating and left with a woman.
"I was fixing a table and talking to my employees when the car went through," Uribe said.
The car was parked right in front of the store when it went zero to bang in a matter of seconds.
"I guess he was distracted or he was talking on the phone and he was with his wife I think and then that's it," Uribe said.
Doral police said the driver didn't appear intoxicated.
Evan Owen with the city of Doral explained the driver said he simply made a mistake.
"Just missed the brake and hit the gas pedal and jumped the curb and proceeded through the window," Owen said.
Thankfully the restaurant was empty at the time.
"Ten minutes before the incident happened we had a couple sitting on this side of the restaurant. Thank God, no one was in the restaurant," Uribe said.
The driver is facing a number of charges. Apparently he shouldn't have been behind the wheel.
"The driver was cited for distracted driving and a criminal infraction for driving without a Florida license," Owen said, as he confirmed the driver was not from the United States.
He actually had no driver's license at all.
"None at all. He had an expired license from his country of origin," Owen said.
The city will issue an emergency building permit to allow the restaurant owner to start immediate repairs. It could re-open in a week or two.
Officers from the Doral Building Department and Code Compliance were also on hand to assist police and make sure the parking lot was properly laid out and marked. They also inspected the building for any structural damage.
