DULUTH, Ga. — A driver who may have been experiencing a medical emergency crashed into a Gwinnett County home, and according to witnesses, kept his foot on the gas pedal when neighbors rushed to help him out of his wrecked truck.
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“The neighbors came, and they were knocking on the door. He wouldn’t open the door or lower the window. They were saying ‘unlock the door’ cause he was actually still driving. He was like pushing the gas pedal,” said neighbor Gabrielle Mompremier.
The crash happened around 11.30 am Friday on Berwick South Drive in Duluth. Mompremier, who was home at the time, says security video shows the driver backing his truck into his driveway Friday and then suddenly accelerating forward, crossing a lawn before striking the house.
Gabrielle called her mother, who was at work, to describe what happened.
“Oh my God, I was shaking. I didn’t know what to think… if she was OK. I was scared,” said Doina Mompremier.
The crash crushed a garage door and the side of the house. The family had several unopened boxes of furniture destroyed.
Both mother and daughter believed what happened was an accident, that their neighbor experienced a medical emergency.
“He had brain surgery a month ago. So maybe it was like a seizure, or he just wasn’t aware,” said Gabrielle Mompremier.
Duluth police say the cause of the crash is under investigation.
The driver, whose name has not been released, was transported to the hospital. His condition is unknown, but witnesses said he did not appear to be seriously hurt.
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