UPDATE: The driver of the vehicle was issued two traffic summonses: Failure to maintain lane and careless driving, according to Lt. Ken Martin from the Middle Township Police Department.
COURT HOUSE – A Middle Township couple was awakened, Sept. 15, by the impact of a car that knocked their home off its foundation.
The husband and wife were sound asleep at about 1:20 a.m. when a 2007 Hyundai Tucson left the roadway, took out a neighbor’s mailbox, and then crashed into the home at 428 Shunpike Rd., Court House.
Cheryl Spaulding said the impact broke her and her husband’s bed and nearly lifted her out of the bed as it was pushed into the closet.
“I screamed to my husband, ‘Fred, someone just hit the house,'” she said.
Spaulding said the floor and carpet of their bedroom were buckled. Everything in the room, the dresser, the lamp, and even the walls had been displaced, blocking the bedroom doorway. They had to pull themselves through the door to get out.
She said the house that has been in her husband’s family for 70 years was knocked off the foundation and determined to be “unlivable.” The Middle Township construction official confirmed this was the case.
According to the accident report created by the Middle Township Police Department, Jacob Michael, 18, the lone occupant of the vehicle, was traveling north on Shunpike Road, driving home from band practice at a friend’s house. He told police he fell asleep while driving and the car left the roadway, ending up several feet inside the house “causing major damage to the residence,” the accident report said.
Spaulding said the vehicle missed hitting trees that might’ve saved the house – and potentially them.
“If the trees were not there it could have been another fatal accident,” she said.
She said she and her husband were trying to get out of the house and they heard a person talking – perhaps two people. Then her husband saw the young man walking away from the crash scene and stopped him.
“He came back and apologized,” she said.
The police and Middle Township Rescue arrived on the scene and treated the driver before transporting him to Cape Regional Medical Center. The Spauldings were seen by the EMTs but ultimately refused treatment, the report said.
According to Spaulding, she asked the responding officer if he had done a sobriety test. She said the officer responded that he did not detect the odor of alcohol and the accident report indicates that no alcohol/drug test was given.
“Is there a reason why a sobriety test is not done in this type of tragedy?” Spaulding said. “There are other substances that cause intoxication that don’t have the odor of alcohol.”
According to Lt. Ken Martin from the Middle Township Police Department, the driver of the vehicle was issued two traffic summonses: Failure to maintain lane and careless driving. He said the summons were not issued on scene due to the driver being transported to the hospital and there was no sobriety test due to no odor of alcohol being present or other signs of intoxication.
The Spauldings are more than disappointed about the accident. They had recently remodeled the kitchen and have a garage that was built in the last 15 years, and they had no intention of moving anytime soon. She said the house is located on a curve in the road, which is County Road 620, and she thinks it would be appropriate to have a metal barricade or guardrail placed there. She said home values in the area are now in the $300,000 to $400,000 range and it would be a shame to see this kind of thing happen again.
“The most important thing is safety. Something similar happened about 36 years ago and they (the county) haven’t done anything,” she said.
Spaulding said her insurance company came out and they received a letter from the township saying the house would be demolished. She said for the time being they are staying at a relative’s house. They have tried to retrieve personal items from the house, but it has been a “real headache.”
Spaulding said she hopes that anyone who is too tired to drive would get a ride home rather than risk such an accident.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
