WEST PORTAL BEAT
Car Crashes Through the Front Window of Miraloma Club, Two Injured
• • • • • • • • • • December 2024 • • • • • • • • • •
There must be something strange in the air. For the second time in a week, a car crashed through the front of another local business. At approximately 3 p.m., an elderly gentleman driving a Subaru Legacy accidentally drove through the front wall of the Miraloma Club on Portola Avenue, injuring two and essentially demolishing the bar’s façade. Witnesses described the incident as a parking attempt gone wrong.
The two people injured in the accident included one of the bar’s owners and a regular patron; both were seated in front of the window and, therefore, almost directly in the car’s path. Emergency Medical Technicians evaluated their injuries and concluded that they were severe enough to require immediate medical attention and transportation to a hospital (it’s currently unclear which one). The driver sustained no physical injuries.
According to witnesses present at the time of the event, the elderly driver crashed into not one but three different objects. In his initial attempt to pull into an empty parking space in front of the Miraloma Club, the driver mounted the curb and drove into a parking meter so hard that it bent backward. He then reversed and backed into a car parked across the lot, causing substantial damage, after which he tried again to pull into the intended spot but ended up driving through the bar’s front window instead.
It was a bizarre sight to see - the Christmas lights still glowing, the TV still playing, and the bottles of liquor lined neatly up behind the bar gleaming, all while the floor was coated in dust and debris, and broken boards were stacked several feet high.”
It was only after the ambulances departed that neighbors could fully appreciate the extent of the damage. What could have been a wrecking ball Seemed to have swung through; except for the doorframe and door, the façade of the Miraloma Club was completely demolished. Rubble, consisting of bricks, shattered tiles, and splintered wood, littered the sidewalk, and a few shatter-proof windowpanes hung onto the top of their frames.
The interior was mostly untouched, except for the window-facing counter, which was, by then, a pile of boards and broken stool legs. It was a bizarre sight to see - the Christmas lights still glowing, the TV still playing, and the bottles of liquor lined neatly up behind the bar gleaming, all while the floor was coated in dust and debris, and broken boards were stacked several feet high.
The San Francisco Fire Department eventually arrived on the scene and inspected the damage, determining that the structural integrity of the bar was still intact. Driving through the middle of the window meant that the car hadn’t hit any of the interior load-bearing beams, and the building was determined to be sturdy and safe for occupants. The crew of firemen made the best of the situation, sweeping up the broken glass and dust and disposing of larger pieces of debris into trash bins. After clearing the sidewalk, they covered the now-open bar front with plastic sheeting, a temporary measure to keep out the elements.
The Miraloma Club is, as of right now, closed for business, and SFPD is investigating the cause of the incident. Further details have yet to be released.
This article will be updated as more details are released.
Maura Corkery lives and works in West Portal.
December, 2024
