Westmoreland County man crashes SUV into into neighbor's house

A Westmoreland County man drove his SUV into his neighbor's house on Monday morning, coming within just feet of hitting a 3-year-old girl inside.

It all started just before 10 a.m. at a home along the 1300 block of Heritage Drive in the Lawson Heights area of Unity Township. Frank Yelenic and his wife were watching their 3-year-old granddaughter.

They were just about to eat breakfast when things came to a crashing halt.

"I was just sitting down to eat my chocolate chip pancakes that my granddaughter and wife had just made, and as I took my first bite, I heard a loud thunder-like noise, thinking it might have been thunder and lightning," Yelenic said. "But then I heard a horn blowing. I knew it wasn't that. So, I ran outside, and I saw the car now partly in my garage and partly in my driveway."

Yelenic said everyone was safe, but he said his granddaughter was just on the other side of the wall from the vehicle that crashed into the garage. And he said that, had his wife's car not been in the garage at the time, the out-of-control SUV may have come right into their house.

Yelenic also said he knew the driver. Pennsylvania State Police confirmed that it was a neighbor from just down the street, David Hess.

"He recognized who I was, and he goes, 'I'm sorry, Frank.' And I said, 'Dave sit still, and don't move,' and then we went from there," Yelenic said.

First responders arrived at the scene shortly after the incident. Fire crews from Unity and Derry townships, as well as Latrobe and Pleasant Unity, worked to get Hess out of the vehicle. 

After a medical evaluation, Hess was seen being given a field sobriety test by state police, who then took Hess into custody to Latrobe Hospital, where he consented to a blood test for DUI.

Hess appears to have destroyed property at several other homes in his SUV before crashing into Yelenic's home, some 100 yards away from his own residence.

KDKA-TV spoke briefly with Hess's wife on scene, who said that this was her husband's third DUI.

"We just have to go, get the insurance involved, and I want it replaced as good or better than it looked," Yelenic said.

While no one was hurt, clean-up and repair at Yelenic's home will take some time. 

As for Hess, state police say he was released back to his wife, while they await the results of his blood test for DUI, which could take 30 to 60 days.