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Teen misses turn, crashes into house
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CarInHouse

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An adult and three minors were startled, but not hurt when their car plowed through the bedroom wall of a house on the corner of South Main and Second Street in Hinesville Monday afternoon.
According to Hinesville Police Traffic Accident Investigators Lt. Max McLendon and Cpl. Scott Hensler, a girl, 16, with a learner's permit, was in the driver's seat with her mother, a licensed driver and owner of the car, in the front passenger seat. There were two other minors in the backseat.
Hensler said the teen was driving north on South Main Street in a 2005 silver Toyota Solara.
As the car approached the curve just north of Deal Street it appears the driver was going too fast for the curve. The officers believe the young driver panicked, hitting the accelerator instead of the brakes.
The car left the road, ran through the yard at 641Second Street, knocked down a bush and then plowed through the brick bedroom wall of the house. The car missed a propane tank and natural gas line by a few feet.
Hensler said the airbags deployed but all the passengers were able to get out of the car on their own. They reported no injuries when EMS, HPD and the Hinesville Fire Department arrived a few minutes later.
The accident occurred about 1:15 p.m. Traffic on South Main slowed as drivers gawked at the car sticking out of the house.
The homeowner, Sam Miness, who works for Liberty Propane, was called to the scene and the tenant was questioned.
According to Miness, the tenant, Felicia Porter, was about to go into the bedroom when something made her turn around.
It was just seconds later the car came barreling into the bedroom. Miness worked with city code officials in putting up a temporary wall to make the house habitable.
Miness said the previous owner had the house 35-40 years and warned him someone was going to come through the wall one day. The previous owner told Miness several cars had ended up in his lawn and torn up his garden. But none ever hit the wall.
"First time ever," Miness said.
Miness said he plans to work with the insurance companies to make repairs and said he may put up a fence.
"It's definitely something to look at now," he said.
The driver was ticketed for driving too fast for conditions.
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