FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A teenager in a stolen SUV crashed into a home in Fort Lauderdale on Monday, police say, leaving a large hole in the front of the house and displacing a single mother and her two daughters.
The incident occurred off Northwest 15th Avenue and Fifth Street.
The family living in the home tells Local 10 News that a vehicle being followed by police crashed into their home around 4 a.m.
Fort Lauderdale police say they received a report of a car stolen from the 600 block of Southwest 8th Street late Sunday night.
“At approximately 3:30 a.m, officers spotted the vehicle matching the description,” a police spokeswoman said in a news release. “Once officers began following the vehicle, the driver began driving erratically and lost control of the vehicle ultimately crashing into a house. ... Officers had not initiated a pursuit of this vehicle. Immediately following the crash, officers made contact with the individuals inside of the home and confirmed there were no injuries. The driver, a male juvenile, was taken into custody and transported to Broward County’s Juvenile Assessment Center.”
Sky 10 was above the scene as several people examined the damage Monday morning. The car crashed into the home’s structural beams, and code enforcement deeming it unsafe to live in.
Jeannette Hope, who was renting the home, told Local 10 News that she and her daughters weren’t injured but that they “don’t have anywhere to go right now.”
“It’s hard it’s frustrating,” she said. “I don’t even know what to do. I need all the help I can get right now.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help her.