[UPDATE BELOW] A 21-year-old Brooklyn woman kicked off her Memorial Day with a bang yesterday, driving a Mercedez-Benz convertible straight through a Long Island home. Newsday has dramatic photos of the wreck, which occurred early Monday morning around 4 a.m. in the town of Huntington. Sophia Anderson (the "driver") escaped with minor injuries, and the 96-year-old woman who resides in the home was unharmed. But the damage is spectacular—the Benz only came to a stop after plowing through the back of the house and crashing into a tree in the backyard.
The ranch-style home is at the end of a T-intersection, and Anderson allegedly blew through a stop sign, drove up the lawn and into the house, just to the right of the front door. The elderly resident, Helen Indiere, and her caretaker were asleep in bedrooms to the left of the door as the Benz blasted through the kitchen and out the other side of the house. "The stove, the stove was in her backyard," one neighbor tells Newsday. "These kids drove that car right through the house."
Another neighbor says, "It literally sounded like the house blew up next door. It did not sound like a car. There was no screech marks, nobody hit their breaks." Anderson sustained minor injuries, reportedly refusing medical attention and a breathalyzer at the scene. (An unidentified male passenger was uninjured.) Suffolk County police are charging her with DWI, and she's expected to be arraigned later today.
According to the Daily News, Anderson lives in Bushwick and works at the Union Square restaurant Kibo; friends say she was informed on Sunday that the restaurant is closing. The News tracked down Anderson's mother, who was shocked to learn of her daughter's activities over the weekend. "Oh, my God! This is not like her," says Susan Anderson. "I don’t know what’s going on. She doesn’t have a car in the city. I don’t know whose it is.”
And Huntington Fire Chief Ken Cochran tells the Post, "The impressive part was it was a convertible with the top down and there was barely a scratch on [Anderson and her passenger. They were very, very lucky." It's also fortunate that there wasn't a gas leak or explosion after the accident, considering the fact that Anderson drove through the stove. National Grid workers were able to cut the line in time. Indiere, the homeowner, told firefighters when they arrived, "Yes, there was a very big accident in my house."
Update 3:39 p.m.: Contrary to initial reports that Anderson refused a breathalyzer test at the scene, prosecutors tell the Wall Street Journal that a "preliminary field test at the crash scene indicated a blood-alcohol reading of 0.30. Each alcoholic drink raises the level by about 0.02." (The legal limit is 0.08.) This means Anderson may have had as many as 15 drinks before plowing through Indiere's house.
Investigators also estimate that Anderson was driving “at least” 40 to 50 mph when she hit the house. She pleaded not guilty today.
