Car crashes through wall of Sam’s restaurant north dining area

At about 10 a.m. Sunday, an elderly gentleman was parking his car in the handicap parking area next to the north dining room windows at Sam’s restaurant on Main Street in the City of Belleville.
He later explained that he thought he hit the brake but hit the gas instead and slammed into the wall and windows and into the restaurant, which had customers eating their breakfasts.
Waitperson Karen Daugherty said there were no injuries. The Belleville Police and EMS checked the driver out, she said. Several pictures were taken of the destruction, both with and without the car. Joe Watkins took a picture of the car in the building and James Mattson took a picture of the windshield and other parts left inside the restaurant after the car was pulled free by a tow truck.
Both pictures were posted to Facebook where people from throughout the country called their relatives in Belleville to comment on the destruction.
The smashed side of the building has been boarded up and that dining room closed. Daugherty said they expect it to take a couple of months before that dining room is open again.
The dining area along Main Street is still serving customers.
Daugherty said she didn’t know if the driver was a regular at the restaurant because he didn’t get out of his car and come into the restaurant after the crash.