SUV crashes into house in Malverne

An SUV smashed into the side and foundation of a house at the intersection of Ocean Avenue and Hempstead Avenue in Malverne last week, causing “extensive damage” to the home, according to Malverne Fire Department officials.

According to Malverne Fire Chief Scott Edwards, around 6:00 a.m. on June 14, a male driver of a white 2002 BMW SUV was travelling north on Ocean Avenue when he left the roadway and struck a home across from the Hempstead Avenue and Ocean Avenue intersection.

The vehicle was lodged halfway in the home, Edwards said, and the house suffered “extensive damage.” He noted that the crash caused the home’s chimney to topple over into the side yard, and the house’s staircase was also destroyed.

Edwards said that the Malverne Fire Department, Malverne Police and the Malverne Volunteer Ambulance Corps responded to the scene. Edwards added that there were two occupants in the house, who were not injured.

“The driver lost control and struck the home,” Edwards told the Herald. “There were people in the home. They were unable to get out . . . where the car hit the house, that was the same location as the interior stairs, which was destroyed by the impact.”

Edwards said that members of the fire department advised the residents to go out to a window onto the roof of a porch, and that firefighters threw up a portable ladder and helped them down to the ground to safety.

 “It was a hard impact — there’s a large hole on the side of the home,” he said. “There’s extensive structural damage.”

According to Nassau County Police, the driver, a 23-year-old Oceanside resident, who was not named, was taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital for non-life threatening injuries. There were no other passengers in the car, police said.

“He was alert, he was banged up,” Edwards said. “We got him on a backboard, he had a neck brace. He had some injuries, bad cuts and bruises.”

Edwards said that the village’s Building Inspector and the Long Island Power Authority were also called in to examine the aftermath, along with National Grid and Long Island Water.

The cause of the crash is unknown, and the vehicle was impounded for a brake and safety check. An investigation is ongoing, Edwards said.