A family of nine was lucky to walk away without so much as a scratch after a alleged drunk driver rode through an intersection, hopped the curb and drove into a residence Sunday.
The accident was reported around 2:24 a.m. in the 1700 block of Alhambra Road. The drunk driver was traveling north on North Raymond Avenue, ran through the intersection, hit the curb, went through the front lawn and hit a house, according to Sergeant Mike Neff of the South Pasadena Police Department.
Police arrested Veronica Villanueva, 24, from Alhambra, on suspicion of DUI. The woman was issued a citation and released.
A family was fast asleep inside the home at the time of the crash. The homeowner, Carmen Gillespie, believed the crash was initially an earthquake, so she jumped up and then smoke filled the home, according to KCBS 2 News.
"Smoke is filled in the house and I’m screaming, ‘Fire! Fire!’ to wake up all the kids… and little did I know it was a van right in the middle of my front room."
Gillespie's son had been doing homework where the van came to a rest, but went to bed two hours prior, KCBS 2 reported.
UPDATED: You may read the follow-up story to this here, where Patch spoke with the family and took pictures of the aftermath.
