Police

Cops: 70-year-old man crashes Mercedes Benz into Cooperage Inn

Cooperage Inn's smashed entrance Thursday night.  (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)
A car crashed into Cooperage Inn’s entrance Thursday night. (Credit: Jen Nuzzo)

A 70-year-old Fort Salonga man crashed his Mercedes Benz into Cooperage Inn’s entrance Thursday night, Riverhead Town police said.

The driver was attempting to back out of a parking stall at the Baiting Hollow restaurant on Sound Avenue shortly before 7:20 p.m. when his 2006 vehicle struck a parked car, police said.

The driver then drove into the northern entrance of the restaurant, put the car in reverse and crashed into a tree, officials said.

Scott Hopkins, the restaurant’s general manager, said he was inside the restaurant when the accident occurred and heard the car crash into the building.

“Thankfully, no one was hurt,” he said, adding the restaurant will be open tomorrow morning.

The Riverhead Town Fire Marshal responded to scene to inspect the structural integrity of the restaurant’s entrance and the accident is still under investigation, police said.

No charges were brought up against the driver as of 10:30 p.m. Thursday.