Car flies off roadway, through fence, into home in Clifton
CLIFTON, New Jersey (WABC) -- A driver lost control on the Garden State Parkway and went through a fence and into a home in New Jersey late Wednesday morning.
It happened just after 11:30 a.m. on Colfax Avenue in Clifton, where it intersects with the Garden State Parkway. Newscopter 7 was over the scene as crews worked to remove the vehicle.
The driver, who witnesses described as a woman in her 50s, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to St. Joseph's University Medical Center.
At this point, it is unclear why she lost control, but the car traveled quite a distance before eventually coming to a stop.
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"She didn't appear to be badly hurt," eyewitness Carl Haefele said. "One thing that rather amazed me was the integrity of the car. She was able to open the driver's door, after that whole trip and a fall down a 10- or 12-foot embankment. She was able to get herself out of the car to walk around to look at it."
Haefele said he heard what he thought might be a tractor trailer in his front lawn, but when he got outside, the only thing he could see was a big mess.
There were scattered pieces of different sets of fencing, and his neighbor's garage had hole in it.
"She must have been moving, really moving," he said. "She more than likely did a couple of hundred feet on the parkway before she got to our fences."
The car crashed in the air conditioning unit and just barely missed fully slamming into the townhome.
What caused the driver to lose control is unknown at this time, and the investigation is ongoing.
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It is unclear if speed was a factor, but Haefele said this isn't the first time he's seen an accident in the area.
"I've been in this house 48 years," he said. "I've see cars come up off the parkway twice. This is the first one has come through the fence."
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