by Steven Felschundneff | steven@claremont-courier.com

A alleged speeding driver lost control of his vehicle Friday afternoon and crashed through the front of a home in Claraboya.

At about 12:15 p.m., a white Dodge SUV was traveling up Mountain Avenue when the driver lost control, crashing into a home in the 2600 block.

According to the homeowner, Holly Wenzl, after the vehicle left the roadway it narrowly missed a stone mailbox and a large pine tree, but hit a stone in the middle of the yard which propelled the vehicle through the air until it crashed into the wall and window of a guest room. The vehicle caused extensive damage to the front of the home.

Ms. Wenzl’s husband Ken was in the home’s kitchen and heard the crash but did not realize that the house had been hit in part because the impact also triggered the home’s alarm. When he investigated he found debris in the hallway and upon opening the front door saw the SUV halfway inside his home.

A man identified as the driver said he needed to call his girlfriend, to which Mr. Wenzl responded, “I am going to call 9-1-1.”

Police at the scene told the Wenzls that the driver had borrowed the car, was driving on a suspended license and was on his phone at the time of the crash. He was taken into custody.

Ms. Wenzl said that speeding is a problem on Mountain Avenue in Claraboya but she never expected that a driver headed uphill would cause a crash. She also said that a week earlier her granddaughter was staying in the guest room where the vehicle came to rest.

The COURIER contacted the Claremont Police Department for more information but had not heard back as of Monday afternoon.