Car crashes into condo unit with couple sleeping inside in Mount Laurel, New Jersey
It was a scary scene in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, on Thursday, after police said a driver slammed into a condo unit, with a couple sleeping inside.
"It was a loud squeal of the tires and then just a pop," Sara Paulsen said.
Paulsen said she was sitting on her balcony, unable to sleep, when all of a sudden, a driver lost control and crashed into the condo directly beneath her.
The car took out a support column, smashed through a window and nearly caused Paulsen's balcony to collapse.
"I just stepped back and grabbed the door, and my first instinct was to get inside, but I wanted to make sure I could see what happened because at first I didn't know it was a car that hit it," Paulsen said.
The crash happened in the Madison Place community just before 2 a.m. on Saxony Drive.
Police said the driver, a 56-year-old man, likely experienced a medical episode at the time of the crash and ran off the road.
Tire marks were in the grass. The driver passed by several other condos, narrowly missed two trees and missed a light post.
Witnesses said he went airborne before crashing and damaging both units.
"That was scary, it shook," said Nadirah Hawkins, who lives in the building next door.
Hawkins was awake in her living room at the time. After hearing the impact, she quickly realized the driver also struck a gas line, so she ran to wake up her neighbors.
"Wasn't really sure if that was coming out the house, from the ground, but I smelled gas and I wanted to make sure they got awoken so they can come out," Hawkins said.
Paulsen said she also checked on her neighbors downstairs, who were startled but luckily not injured. By the afternoon, crews were shoring up the building after officials said it suffered structural damage.
Paulsen was not allowed back in her home, but she said it could have been much worse.
"I'm thankful that we're all okay, the animals are okay, and we can always rebuild," she said. "I'm not concerned, we'll figure something out."
Police said the driver was also not injured, and charges are not expected at this time.
