PHOENIX — It was a terrifying Sunday morning for one Phoenix family, after a car crashed into the side of their home, narrowly missing an elderly woman who was asleep inside.
It happened at around 6 a.m. Sunday in a neighborhood near 83rd Avenue and Indian School Road. Photos from a nearby neighbor showed the car quickly went up in flames.
Phoenix police say it was a 17-year-old driver who crashed into Linda Perry's bedroom. Perry was sound asleep when she tells ABC15 her sleep apnea machine flew across the room and hit her in the head.
"There was glass everywhere and I see a hole and I see a black car," Perry said. "I started screaming my head off, 'Get me out of here. Get me out of this bed.' "
Perry says her daughter-in-law who lives in the home and serves as her caregiver, along with a neighbor, quickly came to save her.
"I'm shaken up, I'm scared," said Perry's daughter-in-law Irene Cook. "I thank God nothing worse happened to my mother-in-law."
Marieta Nedyalkoba owns the home and rents it to the family. She says they have insurance, and material items can be replaced, but the emotional toll it's taken will be difficult to overcome.
"The entire room was basically moved and so she got hit in the head with things falling on her," she said. "They could've been really injured and there could've been people dying."
The family says the home was deemed unlivable by fire officials so they will be staying at a hotel for now. They are now in search of a more permanent solution while the damage is fixed.
"We have two dogs," Cook said ."My mother's handicapped, she's handicapped and me and my husband take care of it all. Do the best we can, anyway."
Phoenix police say the 17-year-old driver was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons and is now facing charges for driving under the influence.
