Police searching for driver who slammed into South Floral Park home

SOUTH FLORAL PARK, N.Y. -- There was a frightening wake up call for a family in South Floral Park Tuesday morning when a car crashed into the house.

"Everything was crashed on the floor. I thought it was a bomb. I thought we were at war," homeowner Satee Birmingham said. 

Birmingham and her son, asleep in ground floor bedrooms, woke up to find a car had barreled into their dining and living rooms. 

The driver of the car was seen on surveillance video running away. 

Mikhail Birmingham, her other son, lives next door. 

"Lo and behold, it's a car in the dining room. They can't find the guy. Somebody stole the car and crashed it, and that's where we are right now," Mikhail Birmingham said. "There weren't even any brakes, tires skidding."

The car was stolen moments earlier, less than a mile away in Elmont. 

The alleged thief was seen walking past the running car then doubling back, getting inside. 

"I was coming down the block, and cops were already here. So I said 'What's going on?' So I asked the officer, 'Hey, we are looking for a Veloster that was stolen, are you busy?' He said what kind of car. He said it's a Veloster, and he said it's inside the house," Rebecca Aguilar, the car owner's daughter, said.   

It's not clear if the house is safe for the family to return to. Their thoughts turned immediately to the victims of actual war. 

"In Palestine and Israel. So I'm happy to be alive. This is replaceable, I'm not worried at all," Birmingham said. 

"I feel terrible, but I feel OK because everyone in the house is fine," car owner Guadeloupe Linez said. 

How fast was the alleged car thief going down a residential street, and why did he not appear to brake? Nassau Police said the investigation - and the search for the suspect - are ongoing. 

In:
• Nassau County