A car crashed into the front of a Buckhead restaurant Thursday morning, rupturing a gas line and closing two busy thoroughfares at mid-morning. The driver of the car fled the scene but later turned herself in and was arrested.
Azra Mrkalj, 25, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, failure to maintain lane and failure to notify owner upon striking a fixture, Atlanta police spokesman Officer John Chafee said.
Atlanta Fire Battalion Chief Edward Hill said there was a two-car accident around 9:30. One of the cars hit the right-front corner of Tin Lizzy's Cantina on Piedmont Road at Roswell Road.
Hill said neighboring businesses were evacuated.
"The gas is building up inside the building," he said, and fire crews were ventilating the restaurant.
Piedmont Road and Roswell Road northbound were closed for several hours; both had partially reopened by 12:30.
Mrkalj, the woman who police said was driving the vehicle that hit the building, left the scene. The driver of the other car was treated at the scene for emotional trauma, Hill said.
Laura Underwood, who works at nearby Jolie Day Spa, said police told her the woman was a German citizen. Mrkalj initially left the scene, but later called 911 and surrendered, police said.
Ravi Patel, who owns Carriage Cleaners across Piedmont Road from Tin Lizzy, said his business was shut down by the gas leak.
"Out of all the places they have to hit the gas line. ... They shut everything down ... It might be a pretty bad day for me," he said.
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