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Emergency crews were called to a south Charlotte restaurant after a woman drove straight through the front of the business on Wednesday afternoon.
Medic was called to the scene after the green sedan crashed into Portofino’s at the Arboretum. The incident took place around 4:30 p.m. at 8128 Providence Road.
Raffaele Guardascione, a manager at the restaurant, said he was making bread for the night when he heard a “big explosion, like the glass breaking.”
An elderly woman had driven up on the curb, through the wrought iron fence surrounding the restaurant’s patio and through the front of the restaurant.
Guardascione checked to make sure the woman was alright and turned off the car, which was still in drive.
The woman told him that she thought she was in reverse rather than drive, he said.
“Boom. Next thing you know she’s in our restaurant,” said Guardascione. “It’s a lot of damage. We threw away a lot of food in the trash because there was glass everywhere.”
The restaurant, which opened on July 8, may not be opened until next week due to the damage, he said.
The woman was transported from the vehicle around 4:50 p.m. and walked away on her own power.
WCNC contributed.
