SAN ANTONIO – Daniel Garcia didn’t know what to think at first when he felt a sudden jolt that woke him up from a deep sleep late Sunday night.
“It sounded like any explosion. I mean it was bad. It dropped everything on the walls, everywhere,” he said.
Garcia and his neighbors quickly found out it was an SUV that had gone out of control around 11:30 p.m. on San Joaquin Street near Monterey.
The vehicle hit a utility pole, carved a path of destruction through a neighbor’s front yard, then broke through the walls of Garcia’s home and rolled over in his living room.
The home was left barely standing and visibly misaligned.
In the middle of all the mess, though, was Garcia’s 77-year-old mother, who had been sleeping on the couch.
She became trapped temporarily under debris brought down by the SUV, and Garcia wasn’t able to get around any of it to reach her.
“I was, like, dying inside,” he said. “But I ran downstairs. When I saw that, I heard people already outside.”
Neighbors were able to free his mother by pulling her out through a window.
He says somehow, she escaped any serious injuries.
“All she had is some small scratches and a tiny little fracture in the nose but nothing major,” Garcia said. “It’s a miracle. It’s a miracle. It honestly is.”
San Antonio police say the 38-year-old driver of the SUV, however, suffered critical injuries. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.
They are still investigating what made him lose control of the vehicle, and it’s unclear whether he will face any charges.
Garcia says he isn’t sure what the future holds for his home, one that his family has owned for generations.
Based on the amount of damage that was done, it may have to be demolished.
In the meantime, Garcia says he and his mother will stay with another relative.