ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – Neighbors said it's amazingly lucky no one was hurt when a runaway car barreled through a quiet suburb in Rochester Hills Tuesday evening and into a house on Chestnut Lane.
The car was driving quickly through yards, hitting signs, mailboxes, grazing two fire hydrants and a fence before crashing into the basement of the home, where luckily there were no people or pets in the way.
Neighbors said they were making dinner when they heard the crash.
"(It) just careened all the way down the street, barely missed some hydrants, hit the fence and into the basement," said neighbor Anne Thieda.
The woman who lives in the home wasn't in it at the time. Her daughter, Holly Bielawski, said it was shocking to see a hole in her house.
"(My mom) was hysterical," she said. "It was very shocking. We didn't realize it was fully in the basement. (The driver) was going 70 mph easy. He was on the gas, he never touched the brakes."
Roy Habeck saw the whole thing from the next street.
"I ran into the basement to see if (the driver) was alright and he was out of it," Haback said. "He didn't know where he was. He thought he was on the side of the road."
Habeck said the man didn't smell like alcohol but was pale and acting strange.
"He kept saying, 'I know I'm in trouble,' and, 'I have $50,000; I'll give you half,'" Habeck said.
Police took the driver to the hospital with minor injuries and said he may have a mental issue.