Residents rattled by vehicles hitting homes
Members of Caldwell Fire and Rescue work to remove a vehicle from the side of a Caldwell home after it crashed through a fence and into a home at the corner of 18th Avenue and Blaine Street in Caldwell on April 30, 2008.IPT file photo
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Monday, November 10th, 2008
A car slamming into an occupied home isn’t something that happens everyday in Canyon County, but when it does, the results are often costly in terms of money and peace of mind. Several local residents were home when cars came careening into their homes.
Here is a round-up of several recent crashes that shook up some local neighborhoods recently.
Where: corner of 18th Avenue and Blaine Street, Caldwell
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What happened: An 18-year-old driver to flew into the side of a Caldwell man’s home on April 30. The driver was sent to the hospital with critical injuries. Idaho State Police said Robert Smith, of Parma, was speeding when he struck a red Honda Civic twice from behind, knocking it into a parked car. Smith then drove over a half block of grass and sidewalk and buried his car into the side of a basement. There were no brake marks or any indication that Smith tried to use his brakes before careening into the home, according to investigators.
Smith was extricated from the car and taken by air ambulance to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center with critical injuries. A juvenile male passenger was taken to West Valley Medical Center.
Resident James Westrup was sleeping on the couch when the car slammed into his home at about 5:45 p.m.
“The whole house shook. It scared the crap out of me,” Westrup said. “When the car hit, I heard the dog yell, came out to see what had happened and there’s a car under my house.”
Westrup considers himself lucky. The couch on which he was napping sits just above where the car hit.
The aftermath: Due to Smith’s condition, investigators were not immediately able to run toxicology reports, which would determine if substance abuse could be a factor in the crash.
Information collected by witnesses remains consistent with information released after the accident Wednesday.
A building inspector was brought on seen to advise whether the home was stable, and there appeared to be a considerable amount of damage to the home.
Where: West Bird Loop, Nampa
What happened: A sport utility vehicle slammed into a Nampa home, destroying a bed where a 10-year-old boy was sleeping. The driver was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after the May 1, 2006, incident.
The SUV careened across the lawn and smashed into the home, coming within inches of hitting the boy asleep in his room, hitting the foot of his bed and sending it spinning. The impact of the SUV sent the child’s possessions and toys flying. He was uninjured.
The vehicle didn’t come to a stop for several more feet, ramming through another wall and into the kitchen.
The aftermath: The driver of the 1998 Ford Excursion, 24-year-old Cassie M. Johnson of Nampa, was arrested on charges of driving under the influence. The crash caused thousands of dollars of damage to the exterior wall, bedroom and kitchen.
Where: 5600 block of Landsdown Avenue, Caldwell
What happened: Charlotte Hemphill was having trouble sleeping the night a car crashed into her Caldwell home.
“I had just fallen asleep, and I couldn’t decide if I’d really heard a noise or if I was dreaming,” she said. “But then I heard music.”
Charlotte got up to see where the music was coming from.
“I could hear a car running; I saw headlights and thought ‘Oh my God, is somebody here to rob us?’ I wasn’t thinking that someone had actually ran into our house. I turned the lights on and saw boards everywhere.”
Charlotte said she smelled smoke and rubber. “Our neighbor saw the driver take off running,” she said.
The car crashed through a fence, the Hemphill’s RV gate, ran over some garbage cans, a lawn mower and some gardening supples before running into their house.
“It didn’t come inside the house,” Charlotte’s husband Robert said. “But it knocked the studs in about three inches in our guest room.”
Robert said nobody was in the guest room at the time of the crash, which happened a little after 3 a.m. on Oct. 19.
The aftermath: The Hemphill’s home and vehicle were damaged in excess of $8,000. Charlotte and her husband hope the woman’s insurance pays them back the $1,000 in deductibles they had to pay for their truck and home repairs.
“We’ve heard that could take months,” Charlotte said.
Caldwell Police identified the driver as Felicia Romero and said she was charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
Where: 1200 block of 2nd Street North and 300 block of Holly Street, Nampa
What happened: Nampa Police Department officials said alcohol played a role in two separate crashes on the same night that resulted in vehicles crashing into homes. No one was hurt in either incident, and two men were arrested on charges of driving under the influence on Oct. 19.
A Nampa Police officer attempted to make a traffic stop at midnight on a vehicle near the intersection of 11th Ave. North and 6th St. North. The motorist failed to stop for police. After a short pursuit, he lost control and ended up crashing through a fence and into a residence located on the 1200 block of 2nd St. North.
The occupants of the home did not witness the accident, but heard the crash from inside and came out to find the car against the house.
In another incident just a few hours earlier, another Nampa crash sent a sedan hurtling into a house in the 300 block of Holly Street.
Officers said the 37-year old male driver, James Hibbard of Parma, was speeding northbound and veered into the opposite lane of traffic when he rounded a curve. A southbound driver, worried about a head-on crash, then swerved. The northbound car then clipped the rear fender of the oncoming vehicle. Investigators said that caused the man’s car to head into the yard of a residence along Holly, where it hit some steps, went airborne and crashed through a fence and into the side of the home next door.
The aftermath: No one was injured in the 2nd Street North crash. The driver of the vehicle, 39-year-old Jose Herrera of Nampa, was arrested for Felony DUI, Eluding, and Driving Without Privileges.
Officials estimated the damage to the fence to be about $500 and the damage to the side of the home at about $1,500.
Damage to the Holly Street residence mainly involved the home’s foundation, and the residents remained inside Sunday evening. The driver didn’t suffer serious injuries and was arrested on a DUI charge.
Damage was estimated at $500 on the first structure and $300 on the second house.
The odds of having two alcohol-related accidents like Sunday’s happening within hours of each other are slim, Nampa Police Lt. Stacy Mowry said. “It certainly is out of the ordinary,” he said. “It’s not uncommon to have multiple accidents in a day, but it is uncommon to have two in one day and have them hit buildings.”
Where: Joe and Pitt lanes, just east of Nampa city limits
What happened: The occupants of a Canyon County home were rattled when a truck rammed into their front porch after tearing through a chain link fence and severing a tree.
The people living at the house were having coffee when they watched a truck come flying through their yard, according to Canyon County Sheriff’s Deputy Ric Lancaster.
The accident happened at about 8 a.m. Sept. 15 when a 2006 Ford F150 traveling east allegedly ran a stop sign at the intersection and was broadsided by a 2007 Dodge Ram pickup. The impact sent the truck through the fence and off the tree until the vehicle came to rest with its wheels on the porch.
The aftermath: The crash resulted in damage estimated at $12,000. The driver of the Ford, 25-year-old Garth Millard of Caldwell, suffered minor injuries but refused treatment on scene. Millard was cited for inattentive driving.
The driver of the Dodge was a 28-year-old Gem County resident who did not suffer any serious injuries. Both pickups sustained severe damage.
The Canyon County Sheriff’s Office sent out a warning Monday after the crash reminding motorists that stop sign violations can have severe consequences and are avoidable.
Both motorists were wearing seatbelts and investigators do not believe alcohol or drugs were involved.
