Sweet Tomatoes Reopens 18 Months After Deadly Crash

NEWTON (CBS) -- A year and a half after a car drove through its front window, tragically killing a man and woman and injuring seven others, Sweet Tomatoes Pizza in West Newton has reopened.

"After 18 months we have reopened our doors! Come join us!" the restaurant wrote on their Facebook page Monday morning.

"The village hasn't felt complete with them being closed so now that they're back up and running, it feels like West Newton is in full swing," said Eduardo Villacosta, who stopped in for pizza.

Owner Hedy Jarras told WBZ NewsRadio 1030,"It feels good, we are happy to be here, happy to be back in the community with an open sign."

The crash happened on March 1, 2016, when Bradford Casler drove through an intersection and into the restaurant.

Eleanor Miele, 57, and Gregory Morin, 32, were killed.

Several employees were among those injured.

The restaurant had extensive damage and was boarded up for months after.

Last summer, safety bollards were installed in front of the shop.

"Working with [Sweet Tomatoes], we put these bollards in, which are crash resistant, and I think give everyone in here, the staff and the customers hopefully a little peace of mind and hopefully help assure that another tragedy like the one that happened, doesn't happen again," explained Aaron Goldman of the Newton mayor's office.

"I'm glad that they did a fantastic job renovating the place, and I'm glad it's open," Goldman continued. "I'm ordering the same thing that I used to order."

Upon their reopening Monday, Sweet Tomatoes offered a free slice of pizza to all Newton police, firefighters, and EMTs.

"We would like to give a heartfelt thank you to all the Newton responders. Please come enjoy a slice on us," they wrote online.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kendall Buhl reports