SUV Bursts Into Flames After Slamming Into Huntington Station Home

HUNTINGTON STATION, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A sport utility vehicle slammed into a Long Island home and then burst into flames, setting the house on fire, police said.

The incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday on Hillwood Drive in Huntington Station.

Resident Amy Worth said she was sleeping just moments before a Subaru Forester crashed into her bedroom, coming to a stop at the foot of her bed.

Worth told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall she was awoken by a loud noise that continued to grow louder.

"I was asleep, and I heard a very loud noise. It just didn't sound right at all," Worth told WCBS 880's Sophia Hall. "It sounded like a truck or a plane or something. It kept getting louder and louder, and I just got away from the noise. So I ran out the back of the house. As I was running through the house, I heard a big crash, and it was the car coming -- crashed into the bedroom."

The trail of destruction began a block away, CBS 2's Carolyn Gusoff reported. The car was traveling south on Hillwood Drive when the 22-year-old driver apparently lost control of the vehicle, which plowed through one front yard, taking down bushes, then into another, taking down a fence, Gusoff reported.

The vehicle crashed into Worth's home and burst into flames.

"There was a little flame in the front, and it just got bigger and bigger," Worth said.

Neighbors ran to help.

"We went over there with a small hose, but it was kinked and not getting any water out of it," said neighbor Michael Abondondolo.

Worth and the driver were not injured.

"I feel incredibly blessed and lucky," Worth said, despite losing her home. "Those are things. You can replace things."

The driver of the car, Dinia Chirinos, of Huntington Station, was arrested for unlicensed operation of a vehicle.

Chirinos told police her brakes failed, Gusoff reported.

The car was hauled away by police and will undergo safety checks to determine if, in fact, there was something wrong with the brakes, Gusoff reported.

Neighbors said cars speed through the hilly residential neighborhood often, even though there's a 20-mph speed limit.

"I don't know, a lot of cars hitting houses these days now," Abondondolo. "I don't understand why, what the deal is. She had to be doing at least 55, 60 miles an hour."

Chirinos pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Tuesday afternoon is being held on $10,000 bond.

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