SUV Slams Into Queens Home, Coming Dangerously Close To Man Sleeping Inside
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Queens man was lying in bed Friday night when a sport-utility vehicle suddenly crashed into his home, sending him to the hospital.
The Terrana family home on 85th Street and 161st Avenue in Howard Beach was a picturesque hideaway tucked inside a quiet neighborhood until a driver barreled through the bedroom, coming dangerously close to the man sleeping inside, CBS2's Jessica Moore reported.
"I was driving back home, I was terrified and I was scared to find a big surprise," Giacomo Terrana said.
When Terrana got a call around 5 p.m. Friday, he never imagined he'd come home to find his house in such a state.
"My son was sleeping on the bed, and once the car got through, it almost killed my son," he said.
Witnesses said the woman driving the SUV appeared to hit the gas pedal instead of the break, plowing through Terrana's brick wall and into his 34-year-old son's bedroom.
"I was upstairs on the third level in my house and I heard a terrible sound. It sounded like part of my house was falling down," Marie Miraglia said.
Miraglia saw the driver and her young daughter right after the crash.
"I said don't worry, I'm a nice lady, come in. So she sat down, but she was worried, very sad," she said.
Now, the Terrana's holiday travel plans will take a back seat to rebuilding, but Giacomo knows the outcome could have been much worse.
"The main thing is nobody really got hurt. The rest of the things can be fixed," he said.
He insisted his son go to the hospital so doctors could check a bump on his head, but he is expected to be OK.
Late Friday night, a cleanup crew was on the scene trying to assess whether the home is still structurally sound. One building expert said if it weren't for the brick wall, the SUV likely would have gone through the bedroom into the kitchen.
The Buildings Department spent a few hours evaluating the damage. There was no word on how much the repairs will cost.