Bartender 'Jumped Like A Cat' To Avoid SUV - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

Bartender 'Jumped Like A Cat' To Avoid SUV

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NBCNEWS.COM - A bartender jumped out of the way just in the nick of time when a SUV smashed through a Sunrise restaurant Wednesday.

"And all of a sudden we just look out the window and I tell him ‘watch out, look at him,'" manager Eduardo Corte said of bartender Edwin Perez.

Surveillance video shows Corte warning Perez to move. He slid over the bar of Havana's Cuban Cuisine at 10035 Sunset Strip as the red Nissan SUV crashed through the front of the restaurant.

"He jumped out of the bar like a cat!" Corte said.

Owner Michael Mellion called Perez "a very lucky man."

"About 30 seconds prior to that car entering, he was down on his knees, preparing, cleaning for the day, in between a big cooler and the bar. And he would have been smashed," Mellion said.

Perez escaped with some stitches, and the elderly driver was also OK. Corte said her foot was still on the gas pedal from the shock.

The restaurant was closed as repairs were made Wednesday, but the owner said it could re-open Thursday.