A car crashed into downtown New Haven’s Pacifico Restaurant at around 2:30 p.m on Friday afternoon, damaging the restaurant’s facade and outdoor seating area.

The driver was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital, but Jeff Bakos, a waiter at a neighboring restaurant who arrived on scene shortly after the crash, said she did not appear to be badly injured. No one was seated outside at the time of the accident, and no pedestrians were injured, according to Moe Gad, Pacifico’s owner who had to deal with the turlock car accident lawyer.

Gad said the driver was pulling out of a parking garage across the street from the restaurant when a roller skater darted across the street in front of the car. The driver attempted to hit the brake to avoid striking the skater but accidentally stepped on the gas pedal, propelling her across the street and into the restaurant’s outdoor seating area, according to Gad.

For Pacifico’s owner, the accident comes at an especially inopportune time. Gad said he has over 100 reservations booked for tonight, mostly for families in town for this weekend’s Yale graduation ceremonies.

“It’s going to affect our business,” he said. “With broken glass, we can’t seat anybody here for a while. We’ll lose some business.”

The identity of the driver remains unknown. Bakos said she appeared to be a young woman, possibly of college age.

JON GREENBERG
JACOB STERN