PRESTONSBURG - Two Prestonsburg residents are fortunate to be alive, after a drunk driver drove his pick-up truck through the front of their home.
According to Prestonsburg Fire Chief Bobby Carpenter, fire and EMS crews were dispatched at 10:45 p.m. Monday, after reports that a vehicle had just wrecked and ran through the front of a house.
Carpenter says that the driver, 22-year-old Travis Lee Goble, of Cow Creek, was still inside the vehicle when police and fire personnel arrived at the scene. “The truck missed the curve or lost control, and literally drove into the house,” Carpenter said.
The owners of the home, Ralph and Ann Davis, were home when the vehicle crashed but were not seriously injured. Carpenter says the Davises were pretty shaken up. “They’re very fortunate. Had the truck been five feet to the left, it may have run over Ann where she was sitting.”
The Davises said they were both sitting in the front room of the house when the truck crashed through their wall.
“We were sitting in the living room when stuff came flying in at us,” said Ralph Davis Sr. “Front room ain’t got a wall on it. Front of the house is kind of tilted, it’s off its base.”
Davis said that after crashing through the wall, Goble backed up like he was leaving and backed into his fence. He says his wife, Ann, chased after him yelling for him not to leave.
EMS units helped Ralph and Ann Davis out of the house due to the significant damage to the structure. According to Carpenter, the home was not condemned, but was deemed unfit for human occupancy due to the structural integrity being compromised.
Davis says this is the second time a vehicle has lost control in the curve and hit their home. A smaller truck hit their home three or four years ago, Davis said, but the damage from that crash was not nearly as bad. Making matters worse, the Davis’ only carried fire insurance on their home, and did not have a home owners insurance policy, which would protect them from such an event.
Goble was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence first offense (aggravated circumstances), failure of owner to maintain required insurance, and failure to a wear seat belt. He was lodged in the Floyd County Detention Center overnight. On Tuesday, Goble pleaded guilty in Floyd County District Court during his arraignment.
Goble was sentenced to over $1,000 in fines, loss of his driver's license for 90 days, and has to attend ADE classes.
Prestonsburg Police Officials stated that no other charges were forthcoming, and that any restitution that the Davises would seek would be a civil matter.
Post a Comment
