Double Trouble : Accidents: Twice in one week Stan Alameida’s Ventura restaurant is struck by vehicles, but no one is seriously hurt.

Ventura restaurateur Stan Alameida graduated from the school of hard knocks--twice this week.

Early Sunday, a hit-and-run driver rammed into the left side of Alameida’s wood and glass storefront, Picwick English Original Fish & Chips on Thompson Boulevard.

On Friday morning, an 83-year-old Ventura woman plowed her Oldsmobile Cutlass into the right side of the restaurant.

As Alameida put it: “Lightning strikes twice in the same spot.”

Beatrice Steele was about to back her car out of a parking space in the mall’s lot when her engine began revving loudly, Ventura Police Officer Ralph Martinez said. Steele then lost control of her car, which lunged backward into Picwick, he said.

“She didn’t have time to stop,” Martinez said.

Steve Petrillo, an insurance agent who was trying to sell Alameida a new liability policy, was one of six people in the shop when the 11:40 a.m. crash occurred. Petrillo said this was a first for him while on the job.

Alameida watched the car careen through his front window and heard his customers scream.

“I saw horror and just shock on everybody’s face,” he said. “Especially the people pinned against the wall.

“I was yelling something to the effect, ‘I don’t believe this!’ ” Alameida said, shaking his head. “. . . Just like in the movies.”

Amelia Pirollo, 75, and Amelia Burns, 45, mother and daughter from Fillmore, were cornered by the car but escaped serious injury, Martinez said. They were taken to Ventura County Medical Center for evaluation and X-rays, but neither was admitted, Martinez and a hospital spokeswoman said.

After Friday’s accident, the right side of the storefront was a mess of glass shards and splintered wood, while the left side was boarded up. Alameida estimated the week’s damage at $3,000 to $4,000.

Only the neon “Open” sign hanging in the right window was left intact, though Alameida had to close for four hours to clean up the debris. Inside, amid the glass and wood, several tables were crushed in a corner and ketchup was pooled on the floor next to scattered, broken bottles.

With all of this bad luck, Alameida is considering moving his restaurant. “Somewhere like New Zealand or the North Pole,” he said.

Steele’s rear right taillight was broken and her car’s back end was scraped in the accident, Martinez said. He estimated the damage at $2,000.

While waiting for a taxi to take her and her groceries home, Steele pleaded for no publicity.