A semitrailer crossed several lanes of U.S. Highway 98 traffic, jumped a drainage ditch, skimmed a palm tree and slammed through a 1-foot-thick concrete wall before crashing into the Tuscany restaurant parking lot.
“It was amazing, absolutely amazing,” said Destin Fire District chief Mike Urenda, noting that the vehicle came to rest 2 inches from a pair of vehicles in the lot near Regatta Bay. “He did not hit one car.”
The incident happened at about 5:50 p.m. Friday, and remarkably no one was injured.
The truck was traveling westbound, and when the driver lost control, the 18-wheeler crossed the median and at least three lanes of traffic.
“If you go out there, you'll see the ruts and it'll blow your mind,” Urenda said, noting that it's amazing the driver didn't flip given that the drainage ditch was 3 to 4 feet deep.
Urenda said the driver had a medical problem and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
He said firefighters worked the scene much of the night, removing concrete, oil and transmission fluid.
“What we had was a big ol' cleanup, which was a big pain in the butt,” he said, adding the parking lot is usually full but had to be blocked off for much of the evening.
“Poor Tuscany,” he said. “They lost a lot of money 'cause no one could eat there.”