Family breaks silence after Wattle Park pizza shop crash leaves boy, 7, under rubble

A 7-year-old boy is lucky to be alive after a car ploughed into an eastern suburbs restaurant, sending its owner to hospital.

Survivors of a shopfront crash in the eastern suburbs, including a 7-year-old boy who was eating pizza when the car struck him, have spoken publicly about their terrifying ordeal.

On Saturday night just before 8pm, a woman drove her Holden Astra sedan through the front of Euro Pizza & Restaurant on Kensington Rd.

Four diners, including the boy, were taken to hospital and 54-year-old restaurant owner Marcello Cocca was wedged under a table and suffered serious injuries.

The young boy, known only as Matthew, told 7 NEWS Adelaide he saw the car coming moments before it flung him onto the bonnet.

“I was running as quick as I can, but the car hit me,” he said.

“The cafe blinds went on me, so I saw a little hole and I grabbed somebody’s leg and then I got out.”

A 7-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after a car crashed into the shopfront of Euro Pizza & Restaurant at Wattle Park. Picture: 7 NEWS

Picture: 7 NEWS

He said his mum was crying as she and a bystander pulled him out of the rubble.

“A random lady, she was wearing a black T-shirt, she told me to look at her and she made me touch her nose to make me calm down,” he said.

While he is expected to make a full recovery, he said he still has a bruise on his leg which “hurts a lot”.

Mr Cocca’s wife Nitaya Maichan also spoke about the outpouring of support her family has received since the crash.

“Thank you everyone for sending support in every way,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

“Thank you everyone on behalf of my husband, who loves and cares about you a lot. Thank you family in Thailand for always worrying about me and my husband’s family. Thank you sister for being by my side.”

Marcello Cocca (R) was injured when a car crashed into his restaurant on Kensington Rd. Picture: Facebook

Aftermath of crash on Saturday night. Picture: Andrew Faulkner

It is understood Mr Cocca is now in a stable condition.

A 44-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman were also injured, although their status remains unknown.

The 42-year-old driver of the car said she had mistakenly shifted into drive instead of reverse and has not been charged with any offences.

The windows of the Wattle Park restaurant have been boarded up since Saturday and while the glass shards outside have been removed, it is unknown if it will re-open.

Long-time friend of the restaurant’s owners, Danny O’Mahony, said around 40-50 people were there for a private, social event and the crash was the result of misjudgment rather than malice.

“My understanding is there was a car that was put into drive instead of reverse and ploughed into a number of people attending the function,” Mr O’Mahony said.

“Look, it’s a fairly quiet area, although in the last 12 months we’ve had a ram raid just a few shops up and a car plough into the coffee shop.”

A neighbouring vendor said it was an unusual sight as Mr Cocca and close friend Renato Coscia could be seen together at the restaurant every day.

Mr Coscia was seen rushing to Mr Cocca’s aid on Saturday night and was fortunate to come away uninjured.