2 Charged After SUV Crashes Into Elderly Woman's Home In New Jersey
RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Two men have been charged and a 94-year-old woman is recovering from her injuries after an SUV came crashing into her New Jersey home.
Police said 19-year-old Angel Feliz is charged with assault by auto while Michael S. Vivar, also 19, is charged with hindering apprehension by providing aid.
According to police, Feliz was behind the wheel of a brand new SUV that had just been picked up from the dealership when, after an apparent fit of road rage with the driver of a truck, Feliz lost control and plowed into the home on Brewster Avenue in Ridgefield Park Wednesday.
The SUV burst into flames as neighbor Carmen Roman raced to find the elderly woman getting help from the truck's driver, who stayed.
"I said I don't care if it's gonna explode, I gotta get her out of here first. So he helped me, he just broke the window because she wasn't responding," Roman said. "She finally opened the door. She would not come out so I dragged her."
The victim's daughter says her mom is now recovering from a gash on her leg after being hit by debris from the crash.
"She was sitting right in that living room when that car came in," she told CBS2's Janelle Burrell. "She thought it kind of sonic boom or something."
A doctor who lives nearby tended to the woman's wounds before emergency responders arrived.
Meanwhile, investigators say Feliz hopped into the car of a friend.
"We ran over there and a guy jumps out of the car and jumps into another car that was here and I'm telling my brother-in-law, 'Don't let him leave! Don't let him leave!' But the guy took off," Roman said.
The two got away but turned themselves in to police hours later, Burrell reported.
"We're just happy that she's OK," the victim's daughter said. "The house doesn't matter."