A car driven by a 15-year-old plowed into a Pinellas County home Tuesday night. The homeowners were inside the residence when the collision happened and say they are thankful no one was seriously injured.
“We heard squealing, screeching, just chaos, and all of a sudden, I put my arm around her back. I was like, run, run, run! We went to the north part of the house, and that’s when all the collisions happened,” P, the owner of the house that was damaged, said.
8 On Your Side obtained surveillance footage of the moment a 15-year-old was driving a Dodge Durango and plowed into P’s home on South Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Pinellas County.
“He took the fire hydrant out and the trees and everything, I mean, just crazy that things aren’t worse, you know,” P said.
Florida Highway Patrol says that the vehicle was driving at a ‘high rate of speed’ and crashed into a parked car and the residence. A crane was used to remove the vehicle from the scene.
The juvenile, who is not named because of his age, was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries. He is being charged with reckless driving, not having a valid driver’s license, driving a vehicle with an expired registration, and having no insurance.
“This is not fair. I mean, all this property damage, potential lives could have been, you know… even his own! I mean, it’s just, you know, it’s tough,” P said.
Neighbors said that speeding and reckless driving on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue are problems they’ve often encountered.
“The traffic or the stop sign is almost like the Gatornationals starting line. I don’t know why they think it’s a good area to race down,” Mike Sellers, who lives in the neighborhood, said. “Luckily, no one was walking around that night; they would’ve come right across that sidewalk there, and they would’ve killed people.”
Florida Highway Patrol says the residence is livable at this time, but repairs for the damages will possibly come straight out of the homeowner’s pocket.
“I just inherited the house not too long ago and haven’t even had a chance to homestead it, nor have homeowner’s insurance put on it. But luckily, the wife’s got full coverage on her vehicle, so that should be taken care of,” P said.
The juvenile will not be charged as an adult in this case. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the vehicle was registered to the teen’s mother.
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Source: Wfla
