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WEST VALLEY CITY — Ashley Weekes and Brandon Kelsey hadn't been upstairs in their house more than five minutes when they heard a loud crash downstairs.
"We thought initially it was a cat knocking the Christmas tree over, or a washer combusting. (We) came downstairs and found a vehicle in my living room with a gentleman still revving his engine trying to back out of my house and escape," Weekes said Sunday.
A 37-year-old man was eastbound on 3100 South about 11:30 p.m. Saturday when he veered off the road near 5100 West, said West Valley Police Sgt. Trudy Kropper.
"At some point (he) hit a pole, traveled over some grass near an elementary school, and then through a chain-linked fence and struck part of a travel trailer and then actually went into a home. The car crashed into the living room of the home (5187 W. Festival Drive) and it was completely inside the home when we arrived," she said.
Weekes said her two dogs and two cats also escaped injury. But if the man had not hit their trailer first, she said the pickup would have driven into the bedroom of her neighbor's house where a 2-year-old child was.
"I feel like very fortunate and someone was watching over us," she said.
He was very intoxicated. He got out of the vehicle and was bragging to the other people in his vehicle saying, 'Man, I just ran my car through these people's house. I just ran my car through a house. I really did that. Look what I did.' He was bragging about it.
–Ashley Weekes
There were a total of three people in the truck. Weekes said when the driver opened the door, beer cans and other alcohol bottles rolled out.
"He was very intoxicated. He got out of the vehicle and was bragging to the other people in his vehicle saying, 'Man, I just ran my car through these people's house. I just ran my car through a house. I really did that. Look what I did.' He was bragging about it," she said.
One of the other men in the vehicle ran off before police arrived.
The driver of the pickup was taken to a local hospital to be treated for minor injuries and was expected to be booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of DUI, Kropper said.
The crash took out two load-bearing walls, left tire marks all over the floor and caused an estimated $30,000 damage, Weekes said.
"I don't think it's hit either of us yet. It's very frustrating someone would get behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated and put other people's lives in danger. But when it comes down to it, all the material things don't matter. I feel very fortunate to be alive today," she said.
