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Landmark St. Augustine hotel hit by car

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By The Associated Press

Published: April 17, 2009

ST. AUGUSTINE - Five people were injured after a valet at a landmark hotel inadvertently put a car in reverse, sending it through a set of double doors and into the hotel lobby.

The crash happened Thursday at the Casa Monica hotel in downtown St. Augustine, a castle-like structure built in 1888.

Officials said two men were standing near the doors when a Honda crashed into the lobby, flinging glass and plants across the room and knocking paintings from the wall.

One of the men was trapped under the car's rear tire; he and four others, including the valet, were taken to area hospitals.

The valet told police he thought he had put the car in park and hit the brake. Instead, he put the car in reverse and hit the gas.

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