NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla (WFLA) – Jimmy Kapetanopoulos was in disbelief when he got this call from his wife: “Get to the restaurant quick, something has happened.”
Kapetanopoulos owns the City Subs and More shop on Grand Boulevard in New Port Richey. The restaurant didn’t have a drive-through, until Sunday around 4:46 in the afternoon.
“He goes straight into the building, he backs up and then smacks it again,” said Kapetalnopoulos. “Then he backs up again and takes off. There are the marks, he goes down to T.J.’s Bar and hits a light post.”
Police believe the driver, 65-year old Jerry Scott Jokisch, was driving under the influence. As of Monday morning, he was still recovering from his injuries at a local hospital, awaiting his transport to jail. He’s currently facing charges for driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.
The sub shop is closed on Sunday, but Kapetanopoulos and his son had just left the establishment after doing some cleaning when the truck came crashing through. He can’t help but wonder, what if?
“The good thing is, nobody was here. Nobody got hurt,” said Kapetanopoulos. “Like I said, had me and my son not left at two o’clock, our bikes would’ve been right outside there, so he would’ve taken those out and who knows, we could’ve been climbing on our bikes when it happened. Who knows?”
Kapetanopoulos has several surveillance cameras in the building. Two of the cameras captured the bright red Ford F-150 slamming into the dining room. The exterior camera captured the truck back out, then lurch forward and then drive away.
On Monday morning, he was on the phone with Jokisch’s insurance company and speaking to a contractor to hopefully get the restaurant back open as quickly as possible.
“I’ve got bills to pay,” said Kapetanopoulos.
He added that business was booming until Hurricane Irma. It dropped off and was picking up again. Now, this.
“Hopefully we can get back open within the week, so we can get back rolling.”
