VIDEO: Woman Allegedly Flees Police, Flips Car On Staten Island
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A driver lost control behind the wheel and became airborne, before landing in the front yard of a Staten Island home.
Police said it was about 3 a.m. Thursday when they tried to pull Danielle Fragetti over. But instead, she allegedly sped away.
Fragetti crashed the car into a median, and the impact sent the vehicle flying across two lanes and into the yard of the home, police said.
"I heard like, 'pow pow.' Honestly, it sounded like gunshots," resident Susan Edwards said.
After watching surveillance video of the crash, Edwards said, "it's a miracle she's alive."
Police said they first responded to a report about a missing car – which belongs to Fragetti's mother. They eventually found it with Fragetti behind the wheel.
Instead of pulling over, she hit the gas, lost control and hit the median in the middle of Hyland Boulevard, police said. The car flipped and tumbled before rolling over right side up in the yard.
The homeowner said he believes a statue of Jesus provided divine intervention, keeping his house safe and the driver alive.
Police said when they approached the car, Fragetti had slurred speech and refused to take a sobriety test. They found two crack pipes with drug residue in the car.
"I feel sorry for the girl. It's very sad. It's a terrible addiction," Edwards said.
She once worked with a YMCA counseling service and said drugs have ravaged Staten Island. She thinks mandated treatment is the answer.
"It's really a blessing that nobody got hurt, including her. But I feel like there has to be a lot more stringent consequences and not necessarily prison," she said.
Police said Fragetti faces multiple charges and has two prior drug-related arrests.