SUV crashes through roof of Rancho Palos Verdes home: "She's lucky to be alive"

An SUV veered off the road and smashed through the roof of a home in Rancho Palos Verdes, sending the driver to the hospital and leaving the house riddled in debris Sunday.

The crash was reported at a house along Santona Drive at 5:54 p.m. with the driver transported to a hospital in unknown condition, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The driver had gone off Granvia Altamira, just behind the home, sending the SUV right into the house. It was left with a gaping hole in the roof and carpets soaked with automobile fluid.

"The whole house kind of rumbled but not quite like an earthquake," said Joann Killeen, who lives there with her husband. 

They were sitting down to dinner when they heard the impact, and soon after, they were faced with a Mercedes Benz SUV in the middle of their family room. After seeing some shattered glass and the vehicle itself, Killeen soon realized there was a person inside the SUV, who appeared to be "coming in and out of consciousness," she said.

"And my training said keep her alive until I can get some help here," Killeen said, explaining that she called 911 and kept telling the woman to look at her and trying staying awake and alert.

"She's lucky to be alive," she said.

The area of the home where the crash happened has been red-tagged and the cause of the collision remains under investigation.

Meanwhile, Killeen said she's just thankful she and her husband weren't in that part of the house when the SUV came crashing in.