UPDATED TO INCLUDE QUOTES FROM FAMILY
An alleged drunk driver plowed into a Hinesville home on Pineland Avenue Saturday night causing significant damage to the house shortly before 11 p.m.
According to Hinesville Police Department, Sgt. Johnathon Greer, Jarvis Jamel Scott was driving a pickup truck when he plowed into a home and left the scene of the accident. Greer said after Scott struck the garage area of the house, knocking down a garage door and bricks, he backed up and fled. A good Samaritan, who saw the accident, followed Scott and notified authorities where he could be located on Whisper Lane, a side street located on the Forest Lake subdivision off South Main Street.
Scott who was not injured was arrested and charged with DUI of multiple substances, reckless driving, possession of open alcohol container and failure to report striking a fixed object. He posted $3,715 in bond and is now out of jail.
The homeowner, Amanda Seltzer, said her three children were near the front of the home merely two-feet away from the wall that Scott plowed into. She said she was toward the rear of the home and her three kids were at the front of the home, when she heard and felt a loud thud. She said her children came running to her saying the house had been hit by a truck.
“There was a brick wall and that was the only thing between the truck and them,” she said about her kids. “Two more feet and God only knows what would have happened to my kids.”
“By the time we came running out, he (Scott) was backing out and throwing dirt and gravel all over the place and then he took off,” Seltzer continued. “But another guy was able follow him and that is how they ended up catching him.”
Seltzer said her husband’s truck, parked inside the garage, was likely damaged as well as many tools and electrical equipment they kept stored inside that area.
She said she is thankful her children were not hurt and also thankful they caught the person responsible for the damage.
However, the family now has to wait until the city determines whether it is safe for the family to remain in the home. Seltzer said they’ve only been in the home for nine months.
