BMW crashes through brick wall, into Orange County home

Driver injured; no one inside house hurt

ORLANDO, Fla. – A 24-year-old Orlando man was critically injured early Friday when his BMW crashed through a guardrail and brick wall before slamming into a house in Orange County, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The crash was reported at a Mortiz Court home located behind Chickasaw Trail, north of Curry Ford Road.

According to the FHP, a man lost control of his 1999 BMW for an unknown reason and drove through a sharp turn on Chickasaw Trail. The car went off the road, through a brick wall and into a bedroom on the back side of the house, troopers said.

The man, whose name has not been released, was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center as a trauma patient. He's in critical condition.

Troopers said the driver was not wearing a seat belt and speed was a factor in the crash. The house sustained structural damage and charges are pending.

Troopers told News 6 the woman who lives inside the house had just gotten up to go to the bathroom, and her husband was still in bed, when the car pushed their bed across the room.

Thankfully, they're both OK, with that husband dealing with a few cuts and bruises. 

"I heard a loud bang," said Xavier Villalona, who lives right across the street from where the crash happened. "I thought it was fireworks because we're still near New Year's. I just want to advise anybody driving down Chickasaw Trail to drive slow. That curve is a serious curve and you don't want to get caught in a brick wall like this man. It was awful." 

"Anytime someone sees anybody out on the road driving recklessly, contact your local authorities," added News 6 traffic safety expert Trooper Steve Montiero. "What happens if someone was standing in that driver's path, or someone in that home did get seriously hurt? They're standing in their home. We're supposed to be safe inside our home." 

Mike Adams lives right around the corner from where it happened and has lived there for nearly 30 years. Troopers said this isn't one of their high-crash spots, but Adams said he's seen more and more drivers on this road, going faster and faster. 

"If they're not paying attention, they'll get a good amount of speed from the corner to here which is about a mile, and if they're getting their speed up and they're not aware of the curb, it gets tricky," he explained. 
 


About the Author:

It has been an absolute pleasure for Clay LePard living and working in Orlando since he joined News 6 in July 2017. Previously, Clay worked at WNEP TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he brought viewers along to witness everything from unprecedented access to the Tobyhanna Army Depot to an interview with convicted double-murderer Hugo Selenski.

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