Dartmouth restaurant opens after driver crashes through wall

A construction crew is seen clearing rubble outside of Sam's Seafood restaurant behind caution tape after a car crashed into the building.

Broken car parts are still scattered around Sam’s Seafood & Grill restaurant in Dartmouth Sunday morning after a car crashed through the building late Saturday night.

Owner Sam Sotiropoulos said he got the call just before midnight that a suspected drunk driver had crashed through a rear wall of his restaurant.

“I was half asleep,” said Sotiropoulos. When he arrived, he said the damage was significant, but it didn’t impact the dining area of the restaurant.

“It’s mostly a storage area, so it’s business as usual,” he said.

Customers examined the crash site Sunday as they entered the restaurant on Gordon Avenue, near Tacoma Drive. Yellow caution tape outlined the area the car crashed through the building while a contractor team swept up the mess of broken car parts.

A tire and mangled rim remained behind, along with a shattered windshield among broken bricks and glass.

Sotiropoulos said police were in pursuit of a suspected drunk driver which ended with the driver smashing through his restaurant wall.

By the time Sotiropoulos arrived he said the driver was already handcuffed and in the back of a Halifax Regional Police cruiser.

Firefighters had to help the driver who was trapped in the wreckage.

“He was intoxicated, apparently,” said Sotiropoulos. “They had to use the Jaws of Life to get him out.”

There’s no word on any charges or the condition of the driver as police have yet to release any details and have not responded to a request for information.

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