A car crashing into a house is not an uncommon occurrence except when it lands on the second floor. Then it becomes a curiosity, leaving people wondering how and why the car got there. Those are the questions Lewiston, Pennsylvania residents asked themselves this week, but state police say the crash was intentional.
One person was at home when a gray 2006 Toyota Corolla parked itself on the roof of a three-bedroom house on Alfarata Road. The car destroyed a corner of the house containing a bedroom and a dormer window, coming to rest partially inside the house and on the roof of the front porch. When the Junction Fire Company arrived, they found the homeowner uninjured but transported the driver, Evan Miller, to the Geisinger Lewiston Hospital. The rescue team also extracted the vehicle and helped the homeowners stabilize the house, adding structural support columns and a tarp to keep out the weather.
The Pennsylvania State Police determined the crash was not an accident and charged Miller with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief. If convicted, he could face between five and 20 years in prison. There’s no word if Miller knew the homeowners. It’s also unclear if he deliberately tried to crash his car into the house or was attempting another stunt.
As to how the car ended up on the second floor, investigators believe Miller hit a culvert used to carry water under the house’s driveway, causing the Corolla to go airborne. A spokesperson for the Junction Fire Company said authorities believe the rise and elevation of the culvert were sufficient to clear vehicles in the home’s driveway and gain enough height to crash into the home’s second floor.
Surprisingly, it’s not the first Toyota Corolla car crash we’ve seen recently, or for that matter, the first Corolla that crashed into a house. Last week a delivery driver crashed a Corolla into a house in North Point, Florida, after running a stop sign. It also got airborne but caused minimal damage to the house. The homeowner was inside at the time, recording a sewing instructional video, which captured the accident.
