SPEEDWAY, Ind. (WTHR) – A Speedway family narrowly avoided injury Thursday morning when a car crashed into their home. The photographs from the scene are incredible. The car drove off Moller Road, knocked down a street sign, hit a porch and then slammed through the north side of the Russell home.
Steven Russell was back at home after dropping his two sons off at school. His wife was in the shower just after 8:00 a.m. when an unexpected guest arrived, parking a Chevrolet HHR in the basement.
"I've heard of this happening to people, but it's one of those things where you can't imagine it happening to you,” said Russell.
Russell heard a loud noise that shook the house. Police came to the door quickly to tell anyone inside to get out, because someone drove through a brick wall into his house. The vehicle went through a bedroom wall and fell through the floor into the basement, leaving almost the entire car inside the home.
"The good thing about it was the room was unoccupied,” said Russell, who has lived in the home since 2005. “My kids were gone. My wife and I were close to it, but not injured. Everybody's safe. It's just kind of shocking and bizarre."
Police say the bizarre incident began with a man slumped at the wheel at 30th Street and Moller Road. When police approached the HHR on foot, the car took off, sped five blocks south and crashed into the Russell basement. Officials stressed this was not a police chase, and it is unclear why the driver took off.
Firefighters had to go into the basement to free the adult male driver, who was able to climb out the rear hatch. He was taken to Eskenazi Hospital, but no further information about his identity or injuries has been released.
The vehicle was pulled out of the basement with a semi tow truck. Workers boarded up the hole with plywood and insulation before 1:00 p.m.
Steven teaches economics at IUPUI but has no idea what repairs will cost.
"The big danger I'm told is that there may be some structural damage to the wall in the basement,” said Russell. “That would be the most expensive thing to fix."
The Russell home looks just fine from the front. But the boarded-up hole on the north side will keep the family living in a hotel at least through the weekend.
“Really, really weird and lucky that it wasn't much more serious,” said Russell. “I mean if the floor hadn't collapsed, honestly, I was right on the other side of it. My wife was only a few feet to the right. We could both easily be dead."