PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — Three Pontiac children are traumatized but safe after a car crashed into their living room early Saturday morning, nearly hitting them.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office believes the 36-year-old female driver from Pontiac was intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Watch the video report below:
Last Saturday around 12:20 a.m. near Telegraph Road and Dixie Highway, siblings Dakartier Bennett age 10, Dionel Bennett age 11 and Heaven Bennett age 13 were all staying with a babysitter. They had briefly returned home to grab a few things. At that exact moment came the flying car.
"I heard a big boom noise and I seen lights on the wall," Dionel said.
Even while suffering a small gash to his head, Dionel knew he had to act quick. He was looking for an exit as the car covered their front door.
“I was trying to get my siblings out of there. So, we had air conditioning in the window and I had kicked it out and we climbed through the window," he said.
Neighbors say what happened next shocked them. The sheriff's office says the woman exited her vehicle after the crash with her larger dog and attempted to run off. Surrounding neighbors quickly jumped into action.
"They helped catch her. They held her until the police came," resident Mya Edwards said.
The place where all of this happened, North Hill Farms, has a long history of violent crime. This includes six homicides over the course of two years and just last February, a man was set on fire.
“It’s just always something. We just can’t catch a break over here," Edwards added.
However, the community says they’re just happy they could all come together on Saturday to keep the children safe.
“At the end of the day, we are a family and we will come together, and that situation just shows we come together and it’s not all bad," resident Diamond Perkins said.
The children say they're all OK but still a bit frightened. They're now living in a new part of the neighborhood.
The driver was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated but was released pending her toxicology report.
