Police Investigate SUV’s Collision

With Restaurant  

By Andrew Gorosko

Police are investigating an unusual accident in which an out-of-control sport utility vehicle, which was traveling on Riverside Road late on the night of Friday, April 2, crashed into a restaurant in the Riverside section of Sandy Hook.

None of the four people who were inside the building at the time of the accident was injured.

Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps members, however, transported the two people who had been traveling in the vehicle to Danbury Hospital for medical care, police said.

Transported were Michael Sperling, 52, of 17 Round Hill Road, and Michael Shaw, 26, of Sandy Hook, police said.

Police said the 1994 Jeep Cherokee had been traveling eastward on Riverside Road at about 11 pm, when after reaching the intersection of Riverside Road and Center Street, the SUV went out of control and collided with the restaurant at 1 Center Street.

The vehicle struck the southwest corner of the building, hitting a front window and a wall at the barroom section of the restaurant. The impact thrust some mud into the barroom and pushed a planter that had been standing in front of the building into the structure.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company firefighters at the scene found mud splattered on the restaurant’s ceiling, walls, and floor. The firefighters aided in cleanup efforts.

Police said they notified the town building department and the town health department of the accident.

The restaurant reopened for business the day after the accident.

The popular eatery is located near the shore of Lake Zoar, in the vicinity of the Rochambeau Bridge on Interstate 84. The accident remains under investigation.