Driver slams into Wake Forest home going 100 mph
WAKE FOREST, N.C. (WTVD) -- Faye Nelson was asleep in her living room early Wednesday morning when a car barreled off Barham Siding Road and smashed into the side of her Wake Forest home.
"Oh, it sounded like my house exploded," said Nelson. "I jumped up and ran and saw lights across the front, and I looked out the window and saw this car in my house."
Nelson rushed to call 911, but by the time she got outside, she says the driver was nowhere to be found.
According to the North Carolina Highway Patrol, Mason James Lachniet, 31, was drunk and driving more than 100 mph before losing control just after midnight.
Troopers say he left the scene and was walking to his house on Barham Hollow Drive when a K-9 tracked him down just a few blocks away.
Lachniet is charged with DWI, careless and reckless driving, and hit and run.
He broke his collarbone in the crash.
"I'm glad he wasn't hurt any worse," said Nelson.
Nelson has lived in the area her entire life and says it's not the first time something like this has happened.
"That curve is so sharp, and they fly up and down this road, and we've had a couple people in years past miss that curve going fast. One went over in my mother's yard," said Nelson.
The Highway Patrol has investigated four property damage collisions on Barham Siding Road since 2012.
Nelson says drivers often use the road as a shortcut when traveling between Highway 96 and Highway 401.
The curve near her home doesn't have any clear warning signs.
"It's dangerous," says Nelson.
Nelson has homeowners insurance and is now sorting through the damage.
She's just thankful the crash wasn't worse.
"If he had been over just a little bit more, he very well could have come in across the front porch," said Nelson.
The North Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating.
