A woman was transported to Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH) after she crashed her Mitsubishi Eclipse into a home in central Nanaimo.
The vehicle hit the home with enough force to embed it in the foundation, according to a release by Const. Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP.
When police responded to the incident shortly after 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 28 they found the woman and her dog inside the vehicle. She was taken to NRGH with only minor injuries, RCMP said. Police began an impaired driving investigation after observing the driver in the hospital.
Two adults and four children were inside the home at the time of the crash, but none were injured. A nine-year-old girl was sleeping in her room, less than six feet away from where the vehicle struck the home, police said. The family was provided with a motel room.
Police determined the driver was going southbound on Highway 19A, when for unknown reasons, she lost control of her vehicle. The blue Mitsubishi crossed the highway into the northbound lanes, went through a grassy ditch, struck a parked vehicle and continued on and crashed into the home, according to the release.
BC Hydro and Fortis crews attended and shut off all utilities going to the home. Police said it was decided to leave the vehicle in place for the evening and in the morning conduct an engineering evaluation on the stability of the home.
“Given the extent of structural damage to the home, it is simply astounding that the no one was injured in this incident,” said O’Brien.
Investigators are asking drivers to check their dash cam videos for any evidence related to the crash, including pre-driving evidence.
Anyone with information can contact the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345, and quote file # 2021-44256.
