An out-of-control car sped down Herricks Lane, careened across Main Road and slammed into a garage on the south side of the road at about 12:30 this afternoon.
The driver, a 66-year-old man, suffered only minor injuries, according to police. He told officers his Chevrolet Malibu malfunctioned, causing it to accelerate out of control.
The car was southbound on Herricks Lane, crossed Main Road at a high rate of speed, hit a tree and went through a hedgerow before crashing into the freestanding garage at 1891 Main Road. It plowed into the building and crashed into a vehicle parked inside.
Homeowner Alice Zaweski was inside her home, putting clothes in the dryer in the laundry room of the house, located on the side of the dwelling closest to the detached garage. She said she heard a loud bang, looked outside and saw a cloud of sand and dust.
“I thought it was a tornado, actually,” Zaweski said. “The front of my garage is completely gone.”
The family car parked inside the garage is “probably completely totaled,” Zaweski said. “The refrigerator we had in there is now on the hood of our car.”
The operator of the vehicle was transported by Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps to Peconic Bay Medical Center for treatment. Jamesport Fire Department also responded to the scene.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash.
Zaweski, who has lived in the house with her husband Ken for some 60 years, said this isn’t the first time a vehicle has left the roadway and come onto the property. \
“A couple guys came across our front lawn once,” she said.
Peter Blasl contributed reporting from the scene.
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