Updated 9:50 PM on Feb. 5, 2023
Park Forest, IL-(ENEWSPF)- An SUV crashed into the dining room of a cooperative unit in the first block of Cedar Street Saturday night. There are no reports of any injuries.
A resident, Stephen Garcia, reported hearing a crashing sound around 9:15 PM “like someone dropped an appliance like a refrigerator.” He felt his home shake as the vehicle drove through an empty parking space between two other vehicles, up a slope, took out a co-op air conditioning unit, and plowed through the dining room wall and window. Photos of the aftermath of the incident show that the vehicle came to rest completely inside the cooperative unit.
Mr. Garcia, who lives in the same building where the SUV crashed, tells eNews Park Forest emergency responders evacuated all units in his building as the impact caused a gas leak. Mr. Garcia stayed with a family member last night. Residents were permitted to return to their homes Sunday morning.
We have no information yet on the condition of the driver or whether he received a ticket. We have no reports as to whether anyone was home at the time. However, Mr. Garcia said he only saw that the driver was assisted and taken by paramedics.
UPDATE: After we published, the Park Forest Firefighters Local 1263 commented on this incident on their Facebook page. They said, “Thankfully the resident that was inside was upstairs at the time and not injured, unfortunately her house is damaged. The driver was taken to the hospital for their injuries.”
This Facebook page is not an official page of the Park Forest Fire Department.
Unless otherwise noted, photographs are from Stephen Garcia. We have blurred the driver’s identity and will only identify him if charges follow. We will not identify the driver if this was the result of a medical emergency.
