Driver, passenger hospitalized after car slams into 2 homes, overturns in Oceanside, Long Island
OCEANSIDE, N.Y. -- Police say a man lost control of his Mercedes Benz and crashed into two homes late Wednesday night on Long Island.
The car struck a utility pole, careened into the houses and a car parked in a driveway before flipping over. It happened at around 10:15 p.m. on Harvey Avenue in Oceanside.
Regina Visone was home with her husband and daughter when the car came crashing into the back of their house, a terrifying close call.
"The ground just started shaking. It felt like an earthquake. It was loud. Lights were flashing, bright white lights. And then I saw the car in the yard upside down," she said.
Next door, Randy Spielberg narrowly missing being hit by the car that crashed into his living room. He was home with his son.
"I was sleeping. I went up to bed after the Yankee game, and next thing I knew, I was out on the street looking at a gaping hole in my house," he said.
"It was a loud bang. I was just getting ready for bed. I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth," said his son, Jake Spielberg. "You really never think that these things happen to you. Thank God that we're OK and we're safe and we're alive and we're here to talk to you guys today."
The 45-year-old driver and his 37-year-old passenger were pinned in the car. They were taken to the hospital with unknown injuries.
"Damage to the front corner of this house on the right. House on the left damage to whole rear. It pushed it off its sill plate," said Sean Costigan, chief of Oceanside Fire and Rescue.
Neighbors say they often complain about cars taking the rounded corner way too fast.
"We always say that it's only a matter of time until something happens, and, unfortunately, it happened to us," Jake Spielberg said. "You never know what can happen around this bend, so it's super dangerous and we want to make sure we can prevent something like this from happening in the future."
Remarkably, no one was injured in either of the houses.
"I think it's a miracle no one got hurt," neighbor Jeff Rickman said.
"We feel very lucky, and that's what we are trying to focus on," said Visone. "We were definitely relieved when everybody was accounted for."
The crash pulled out a gas line, water main and utility lines, knocking power out for some time. Those utilities were eventually turned off. The homes were condemned.
No charges have been filed, as the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
