Lucky Quarters Bar owners feeling lucky after car crashes through wall and no one is hurt
FREMONT – Owners of the Lucky Quarters Bar and Grill feel lucky that no one was injured when a patron backed his car through the wall of the building Monday night.
David Eugene Hendricks, 69, of Ballville Township, had been at the bar for an estimated two hours and when he tried to leave he backed his 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo through the rear of the building from the parking lot, according to Fremont police.
A call for assistance was made to the Fremont City Police Department at 7:50 p.m. from the Lucky Quarters, at 121 S Stone St., formerly known as Big Shots Pub and Grub and before that the Stone Street Tavern.
The bar has been closed since the accident, which took place around 7:30 p.m.
"We just purchased the bar in October," co-owner Mindy Andres said on Wednesday. "I was getting groceries when everything happened. I got a call from the bartenders. They said, 'You need to get down here.' We just redid the entire inside of the bar. We never closed down, during the remodeling, but we need to make sure everything is good, before we can have our customers come in, for their protection and ours."
The business' co-owner, Mark Effinger, is getting estimates on repair costs. They are hoping to reopen for business Thursday evening.
Still shaken after the accident, Andres said she was unsure how much they had spent on remodeling before Monday's crash.
"We got all new floors, paint, tables, chairs," Andres said. "Thank God he only hit our storage room. That's the part he went into, so he didn't hit much of the remodeled area, but it's right next to our main door, and that's where we need to have safety."
She said that they were somewhat lucky to not have any of the utilities damaged.
"Amazing Dave, we call him," Andres said, referring to the driver in Monday's incident as a regular. "We're just thankful that nobody was out there smoking, or anything."
Hendricks has been charged with three offenses, failure to control, driving under the influence and driving under the influence within 20 years of previously having been convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, driving under the influence, according to police.
“The rear of the Monte Carlo was backed into the rear wall and was partially in the storeroom. Bar staff indicated that there were no injuries inside the bar and it was unknown if any utilities were compromised,” the responding officer wrote in the incident report. “Hendricks stated that he placed the car in drive, but it went backwards into the bar.”
EMS responded and Hendricks refused to be treated. He did not claim any injuries.
The officer wrote that Hendricks has two prior OVIs, in 2010 and 2019, based on LEADS police records.
Hendricks’ vehicle was pulled from the wall by Triple J towing and a court order was placed to hold the vehicle.
Hendricks refused to take a blood alcohol content breathalyzer test with the officer’s portable DataMaster Transportable tester.
“Hendricks was advised that with two prior OVI’s his license would be suspended for three years,” according to the police report.
Hendricks was released to a sober party after the crash.
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This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Car crashes through wall of newly remodeled Lucky Quarters bar
