Fort Lauderdale, FL : Driver injured after car crashed into a fine wine store in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday night, March 25, 2015

A driver was taken to the hospital Wednesday night after slamming his car into a Fort Lauderdale wine store.

At around 11 p.m., on Progresso Drive and Northeast Ninth Street, a 28-year-old driver slammed into the Wine Watch, a small store specializing in fine wines, leaving the storefront completely destroyed.

The driver's Mercedes also suffered severe damage from the impact. "The car ended up sliding into the side," said witness Reed Kellough. "He ended up trying to miss the fire hydrant, but hit his brakes and slammed right into the wall. He was probably going 40 miles an hour or so, couldn't stop, and it was not a pretty sight, unfortunately."

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue crews cut the man out of his car and transported him to Broward Health Medical Center. Witnesses said he seemed alert. "He was OK," said Kellough. "He knew his name. He knew what was going on. He was functional, he knew what was going on but it was just ... it was not a pretty sight."

Although the owner of the affected store is out of town, his friend and attorney, Charles Duffy, said he is devastated by the severe damage it sustained. "I happen to know what was on the other side of that wall, and I'll be very disappointed if some of those ports and medeiros were broken," he said.

According to Duffy, the store is the only one of its kind in South Florida. "The depth and breadth of the wine that Andrew [the owner] keeps here at Wine Watch doesn't exist in places other than New York or Chicago or L.A."

Officials have since placed a notice on the building deeming the structure hazardous.

Duffy said he and his friend were always concerned over the sharp turn just outside the store.

The driver sustained injuries that were not life threatening and is expected to be OK.

Source :
Driver hospitalized after crashing into Fort Lauderdale business