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SUV crashes through home near LaVell Edwards Stadium

Posted at 8:23 AM, Mar 29, 2013
and last updated 2013-03-29 20:47:16-04

PROVO, Utah -- Provo police said a 17-year-old driver was behind the wheel of a white SUV that crashed through a home near LaVell Edwards Stadium Friday morning.

It happened around 7:15 a.m. at 475 East University Parkway.

Police said the 17-year-old driver, a student at Timpview High School, was headed northbound on 450 East. Instead of making a right or left turn, he drove straight for the home.

The SUV went all the way through a room belonging to two toddlers, and landed in the master bedroom.

"The car was going fast enough that when it hit, it launched itself damaging every room in the house. You can't see beds in any room. The over pressure knocked the front window out so it was a very devastating and very big impact," said Provo Police Sgt. Matt Siufanua.

The driver was unconscious when he was extricated from the vehicle and was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Homeowner David Lee says that thanks to a new baby, he and his family were staying with relatives in Lehi rather than sleeping in their beds when the SUV came crashing through the home.

"I had class last night and I considered staying home and decided not to. So I'm really grateful I did," he said. "Can't even see pieces of their beds. It's decimated in there. If we had been there like I said bad news."

Questar Gas spokesman Darren Shepherd said the car hit and broke a gas meter at the home, causing a temporary gas leak that forced a brief evacuation of nearby homes.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but police say the driver may have suffered some sort of medical condition.