A van crashed into a home near the University of Central Florida on Monday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred shortly before 4 a.m. on Alafaya Woods Court, where the van remains lodged in the wall of the triplex. Investigators said the driver fled the scene.
“I’m glad to be alive, I look at it as a sign from God that I’m alive,” said Tyler Fahy, who was asleep in bed on the other side of the wall where the van struck.
Fahy said he woke up covered in dust and cinder blocks.
“My cat was also stuck in the rubble in there, and I ended up going back in after the paramedics had arrived and come and gone,” he said.
According to FHP, the Sprinter van first crashed into an SUV, then veered off the road and slammed into the triplex wall.
Fahy said he crawled out of the home and briefly encountered the driver.
“I come out and the guy was tweaking and screaming and very upset, telling me he’s sorry and stuff. But when the police actually got here, he was gone,” Fahy said.
Troopers are working to identify the driver, noting that the van has the name and phone number of a party rental business on its side. State records show the business is registered to an address just two buildings away.
When reporters knocked on the door at the listed address, no one answered.
“Cheated death again, so there you go,” Fahy said.
Fahy and his brother survived the crash, though he said his head is hurting.
The Red Cross has provided temporary assistance, but officials have deemed their section of the building unsafe. They cannot return inside until the van is removed and the structure is stabilized.
“Since then, I brought my stuff out here, sitting out here, chilling since,” Fahy said.
Troopers continue to investigate the crash and search for the driver.
Source: wesh
