Tonawanda News — Kenmore police said a car crashed into a Kenmore home on Warren Avenue early Wednesday after running a stop sign.
Toney Hardin, 32, of Grace Street in Buffalo was approaching the T-intersection at Warren and Charleston Avenue and went through the intersection, up the lawn and into the home. Hardin hit the home around 3:40 a.m. No injuries were reported.
According to Kenmore Police Chief Captain William Phillips, Hardin was not intoxicated but was driving with a suspended license. He was taken into police custody and posted $260 bail.
“He was given three tickets for unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle, and not obeying a stop sign,” Phillips said.
Police don’t know where Hardin was coming from or headed to.
The resident of the home, who declined to give her name, said Hardin was speeding and traveling with two intoxicated women. The crash woke her up immediately.
“He must have been going pretty fast,” she said. “The house is pretty old, and the only thing that slowed him down was the cinder blocks in the home—but he was still about six feet into the house.”
Phillips said the damage to the house, including the foundation, was extensive.
“You could see the tires of the car from the basement,” Phillips said. “It’s going to be pretty expensive.”
National Fuel came to the house to shut off the gas due to a worry about a possible gas leak.
About 45 drivers have crashed their cars into buildings in the past year in the Western New York area. Phillips said this is the first one in Kenmore in that time period, however.
“I’ve been here 20 years,” Phillips said. “I’ve seen a handful over that time period, but this is the first one in the recent rash.”
Most of the year’s crashes have involved businesses, such as restaurants, convenience stores and gas stations — with only a few drivers barreling into homes.
Contact reporter Jessica Bagley at 693-1000, ext. 4150.
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