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Tuscola County, MI (WJRT) — A family is recovering after a pick up truck slammed into their home early Sunday.
The crash happened around 2 a.m. on North Street in the small town of Tuscola northeast of Frankenmuth. Police believe the driver may have been drunk or high when he blew a stop sign, went airborne and flew into the house.
“I was in bed, just closed my eyes, when I heard the boom,” said Cody Ayotte, who lives in the home.
He was upstairs and there was so much damage inside he couldn’t get through the downstairs door.
“I ended up having to break down the door,” Ayotte said. “Once I got the door open it looked like a bomb had gone off — nothing but dust and smoke and screaming.”
He said five other family members, including his 8-month-old niece Chloe, were also in the house.
“We didn’t even know there was a truck in the house until we were outside,” Ayotte said.
Police say the driver of the truck apparently went through a stop sign at 80 mph or more, drove up North Street, went airborne after hitting the yard and slamming into the home.
“What I did see of him, he was really in rough, bad shape,” Ayotte said. “When we found him in the truck he was unresponsive.”
More than 24 hours later, the family was still coming to grips with what happened. Ayotte’s mom was slightly injured. Chloe, who was in a playpen, got thrown across the room after the impact.
She was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries and released Monday.
The family is now living at another relative’s home.
“The house, from what we are told, is completely unsalvageable,” Ayotte said. “It has been pushed off its foundation by four or five inches.”
Police say the driver of the pickup truck is a 19-year-old man from Montrose. He was taken to an area hospital, where his condition was not available Monday.
Investigators believe alcohol and drugs may have played factors in the crash.
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