Damage is extensive after a Jeep plowed into a house on Montreal Street on Thursday morning, and Kingston Police say both occupants of the vehicle fled the scene.
“This has got to be a dream, this just isn’t happening,” said Ed Cairns, who woke up around 5 a.m. on Thursday to find a black 2016 Jeep Patriot had struck his home.
“It felt like the house was coming down,” Cairns said. “I saw the mirror off my wall smash on the floor, so I jumped up very quickly, turned on the light and I saw that in the spare bedroom the floor was gone, collapsed. So I thought that it was a sinkhole.”
Instead of a sinkhole, Police told Cairns that a vehicle had broken through the wall of his home and came to rest in his basement.
The spare bedroom is where guests stayed during visits, Cairns said. “I’m just glad my daughter’s not there. That wouldn’t have been good.”
Cairns said the crash was just an inch away from a natural gas line.
He is glad that no one was injured.
The significant damage to his home means that structural engineers will have to evaluate the property.
“I’m just kind of lost. I know I’m homeless right now so I’m just trying to figure that out,” Cairns said. “The insurance company has been in contact with me. Looks like they’re setting me up. I just have to find a hotel and stuff. So, I’ll figure it out.”
The occupants of the Jeep fled on foot and Kingston Police are treating the case as a “fail-to-remain” investigation.
“Luckily, no one was injured, but we are looking at a police investigation of failing to remain,” Sgt. Steve Koopman said. “Whether it’s one or more occupants of that vehicle including the driver, they did not stay on scene, they did not identify themselves, and they did flee the area.”
Cairns said he didn’t see anybody, but could hear two people arguing about how to get out of the crashed vehicle.
The vehicle has not been reported stolen, but the registered owner has been contacted by Kingston Police.