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Spring Hill man, 87, drives into restaurant
By JONATHAN ABEL
Published December 4, 2005
BROOKSVILLE - Charles Fontana said he was trying to hit his brake Saturday when his shoe got caught on his car's floor mat and he hit the accelerator instead.
The car cleared a curb and smashed through the glass front of the Philly's Best Cheesesteak House restaurant at 8562 Forest Oaks Blvd. in Spring Hill.
The white Oldsmobile came within inches of a girl eating a cheese steak with her father and another man, said Sheila Surrena, a co-owner of the restaurant. No one was injured, and the diners moved to another table and continued eating.
The accident happened just after 3 p.m. as Fontana, 87, of Spring Hill was trying to park. Fontana, who was unhurt, called the accident embarrassing. He was charged with careless driving, a Hernando Sheriff's Office report said.
Dominic Balsamo, 18, was standing at the counter wrapping sandwiches. "I heard the car tires squeal and thought it was on TV, but (the sound) was too loud. So I looked over ... and saw a car sitting in the restaurant," he said. "That's why they should make you renew your driver's license every few years."
The car penetrated the restaurant 2 or 3 feet, turning over a trophy case and scattering glass throughout the store.
The one victim of the crash was a painting of the Philadelphia skyline, which John Webster was about to complete on the front window of the restaurant.
After three weeks of working on it on and off, Webster, 51, was putting the finishing touches on the lettering of his painting, which sets Philadelphia's skyscrapers against a foreground of red bricks. He noticed that his brush was getting "a little icky" so he walked 15 feet to his minivan to rinse it off.
That's when the Oldsmobile crashed through the window where he had been working moments earlier.
"I'm going to frame this brush," he said.
[Last modified December 4, 2005, 04:05:00]
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