PORT RICHEY, Fla. — A 17-year-old is in a lot of trouble after Florida Highway Patrol Troopers say he took his mom’s car without permission and then crashed it into his neighbor’s house.
The vehicle took out the garage door and another wall in front of the Port Richey home on Monday. The force of the impact damaged the structural stability of the home.
“I charged into my garage to see what was going on,” Paul Fellows said. “He just hopped out of the car. He was a little bit distraught, didn’t know what to do, and after a few minutes ran off home to grab his mom and they both came back.”
Troopers tell us the 17-year-old admitted to taking his mom’s car without permission and that the “the accelerator locked up which caused him to lose control of the vehicle and collide into the residence.”
When pressed by investigators the teen stated, “he may have pressed the gas instead of the brake.”
Law enforcement tested the brakes and say they were functional.
“Like I said, I thought the worst,” Fellows said.
A few minutes before the car came barreling through Fellows’ garage, he said he was there doing laundry.
“To be honest with you, as soon as I got out, I went over with my dog and I prayed,” Fellows said. “Because that dog is one of the only things I have in this world that tethers me down... so as long as I’m ok and he’s ok I am good to press on.”
The teen was cited for driving without a seatbelt, reckless driving, running a stop sign, and a learner’s license violation.
