The driver of a pickup truck that forced a car into the side of Savona restaurant on Thursday afternoon will be cited for failure to yield, but the restaurant will remain shuttered while the damage is being repaired.

The driver of the truck was leaving the shopping center from a drive way when a crash occurred and forced a car driven by a 17-year-old Centerville female into a wall of the restaurant at 79 S. Main St., Centerville police Officer John Davis said Friday.

The teenager suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital. The incident is pending further investigation, Davis said.

The impact left a gaping hole in the restaurant that workers have boarded over. Chef-owner Keith Taylor had said he hoped at least the bar area of Savona would be opened by Saturday, but that won’t happen.

Friday, a building inspector said the structural integrity of Savona is OK, but the insurance company said it would not be safe to have customers in the restaurant while rebuilding is taking place.

Rebuilding is expected to take a couple of weeks.

“At this point, it’s just been a decision of when can we get back open again… and how will it affect our employees,” Taylor told News Center 7’s Layron Livingston.

The restaurant was not open at the time of the accident (it opens at 5 p.m.), but employees were in the business preparing for evening diners. Taylor, who was in the back of the restaurant when the accident occurred, said the impact “sounded like a bomb had gone off.”

Taylor said he’s glad no workers or customers were in the dining area when the car hit, and hopes the rebuilding will occur quickly so he can get back to the business of feeding his customers.

Even with the unanticipated closure, Taylor was able to find a little humor in the aftermath of the incident.

“I wasn’t planning on having a car show that day, but maybe I could have charged tickets for it,” he said.