A car ran into the front doors of O'Charley's restaurant, causing some heavy damage to the eatery's exterior Sunday morning.
Miami Twp. police were dispatched to the O'Charley's on Miamisburg Centerville Road just before 2:40 a.m. on reports of a vehicle into the structure.
When officers arrived they found a four-door, silver vehicle had crashed into the front doors, causing a hole where the entrance used to be. The four occupants of the vehicle fled from the crash, but two - including the driver - were caught by police.
A teen driver, driving the car without a license and without the permission of the owner, was traveling westbound on Ohio 725 when she lost control of the vehicle. The car veered off the roadway and was traveling backwards before it hit the restaurant.
"We could have had a very serious accident here," said Sgt. Paul Nienhaus of the Miami Twp. Police Department. "Obviously in terms of property damage, we did, but in terms of human life and injury, we lucked out a lot."
Multiple ditches and light poles in the area where the car went off the roadway, and could have caused the car to flip, were avoided, said Neinhaus.
The teen driver will face traffic court charges, but will not be taken to juvenile detention. Costs of the damage to the restaurant could also be charged to the driver.
Damage estimates have not been released.
The crash remains under investigation and the restaurant is expected to be open normal business hours today.
