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– Submitted photo
A house on Sixth Ave. N. from 1928 suffered significant damage when hit by a car on Saturday morning.
A car, speeding away from police, slammed into a home in Fort Dodge early Saturday morning.
Both occupants of the car were injured, but everyone in the home, including a small dog, was unharmed.
Fort Dodge Police Sgt. Paul Samuelson said alcohol and speed were believed factors in the crash.
He said a “the good samaritan” who is not a police officer, helped arrest the driver of the car after he tried to run away from the scene of the accident.
The chain of events leading up to the car hitting the house on Sixth Ave. N. 1928 began around 2 a.m
– Submitted photo
A pickup truck prepares to remove a 2015 Toyota Camry found parked at 1928 Sixth Ave. early Saturday morning. N. crashed into the house. The accident happened when the car fled from the police. The two occupants of the car were injured. Nobody in the house was hurt.
According to Samuelson, the 2015 Toyota Camry was traveling north on 15th Street at First Avenue South and struck the rear of another northbound vehicle.
The Toyota swung around the vehicle it had just struck and continued north on 15th Street.
Samuelson said the Toyota turned east on First Avenue North, followed by the vehicle it struck. Near First Avenue North and 15th Street, the driver of the hit vehicle saw a police officer and told him what had happened.
The officer spotted the Toyota and turned on the squad car’s red and blue lights to try to stop it.
The Toyota didn’t stop. Instead, it headed east on 20th Street and then north. At the corner of 20th Street and Sixth Avenue North, the car failed to stop at a stop sign, crossed Sixth Avenue North, and crashed into the house.
Samuelson said officers got the driver out of the car and handcuffed him. The driver tried to run away.
Then the good Samaritan stopped him and “Escorted him to the ground” Said Samuelson.
While dealing with the driver, officers checked on the residents of the home.
“We feared the worst” Said Samuelson. “By the grace of God we didn’t have that.”
He said four people who were in the front living room exited that room just before the car hit it.
The other occupant of the car was trapped in the front passenger seat and was removed by the Fort Dodge Fire Department. Both occupants of the car were transported to UnityPoint Health – Trinity Regional Medical Center.
The names of the driver and others involved have not been released as the accident is still under investigation. Samuelson said he believes numerous criminal charges will be filed.
He said the front of the house was destroyed and the foundation appeared to be damaged.
“There is no way you can live in the house” he said.
The two-story home is owned by FDG Investments Inc. of Fort Dodge, according to Webster County appraiser’s online records. It was built in 1915.
