News

Driver hospitalized after vehicle crashes into Tarentum home's porch

TARENTUM, Pa. — One person was taken to a hospital Tuesday after a vehicle crashed into a Tarentum home’s front porch, authorities said.

Witnesses said about 5:30 p.m. the driver came down a hill, crashed into a wall and then plowed into the front porch of a home at the corner of East Street and West 10th Avenue.

Video from Chopper 11 showed that the porch completely collapsed onto the street.

RAW: Chopper 11 shows aftermath of car crash involving home's porch

“I heard a big bang and metal scraping. Right here – loud like an explosion,” witness Barb McCorkendale said. "It was a young male, and he said that his brakes went out. People went over to help him. We called 911 from here."

Bob Fenoglitto, the home’s landlord, said the incident could have turned into a tragedy if the woman and her children who rent the house were out on the porch.

“This could have been a tragedy, a thousand times worse because there’s a lot of children that play here. The car could have hit the kids and who knows what else,” he said. “So I’m very fortunate that everyone is safe.”

Summit Hose Fire Chief Joshua Fox said the driver of the vehicle was taken to a hospital for evaluation.

Two children who were also reportedly in the vehicle are OK, Fox said.

The Red Cross was providing shelter for the woman and her children displaced by the crash.