Out-Of-Control Sedan Collides With House

By Andrew Gorosko

Police arrested a teenager on drunken driving and reckless driving charges, among other offenses, early Sunday morning after a sedan that she was driving went off The Boulevard and traveled about 50 feet up a sloped driveway, striking and damaging a house where two residents were sleeping.

Police report that there were no injuries in the incident involving the out-of-control auto which carried three teenage passengers.

Police withheld the identity of the driver, terming her a “youthful offender,” meaning that she is either 16 or 17 years old. State law shields the identity of people under age 18 who are charged with such offenses.

The motorist was driving a 2004 Volvo S-60 sedan northward on The Boulevard, just north of the bridge that crosses above the Housatonic Railroad’s freight line, at about 2:15 am February 8, when she lost control of the auto and went off the roadway to the left, police said.

The Volvo then drove about 50 feet up an inclined driveway and struck the right-front section of a two-story, single-family house, damaging the structure, police said. After the crash, the damaged section of the house, which is adjacent to its front door, was boarded over to seal it from the weather.

All four occupants of the Volvo told police that they had been wearing seatbelts when the crash occurred and thus were not injured. Each of the three passengers is 16 years old, according to police.

The two people who were sleeping inside the house at 55 The Boulevard when the collision occurred were uninjured, police added. It is unclear how fast the vehicle was traveling when it struck the building.

In investigating the incident, police gave the driver a set of standard field sobriety tests.

Police then arrested her on charges of driving under the influence, reckless driving, making a restricted turn, violation of the 11 pm driving curfew by a person under age 18, and violation of passenger restrictions by a person under age 18.

Police said they released the three Volvo passengers into the custody of their parents. The damaged auto was towed away.

Also, police released the Volvo driver into the custody of her parents. The driver is scheduled to appear in Danbury Youthful Offender Court on February 20 to answer the charges against her. Such court proceedings and their eventual disposition are closed to the public.

Police Officer Larissa Nosal investigated the case.