Man suffering medical emergency dies after slamming truck into Eastpointe home

Homeowner turns off truck to prevent fire

EASTPOINTE, Mich. – A man suffering a medical emergency crashed into an Eastpointe home and died early Wednesday.

The 56-year-old man's pickup slammed into the home in the area of 9 Mile Road and Linwood Street just after midnight.

Nik Drankoski was working in his living room when the crash happened.

"It's definitely a shock to be like, 'Well, there's a truck sticking out of my house,'" he said.

Drankoski said he ran downstairs and saw his basement full of smoke so he ran outside to shut the truck off.

"I climbed into the driver's side and killed the engine on the truck," he said. "I've been here for 15 years and I've done a lot of work on it (his house), and to see a lot of work literally go up in flames, I didn't want that."

The house is now boarded up, and Drankoski has a mess that needs to be cleaned.

He said he is "taking in the damage and making a list of the broken things, and just kind of waiting to see what happens next."

His insurance company will be assessing the damage soon.