Naimey was driving west on School Street when she struck two street lights, a sign, a fire hydrant and a stop sign, police said. Watch video
A crowd of onlookers and emergency personnel gather outside 113 School St. where a car crashed into a bedroom Tuesday morning, narrowly missing a man and woman who had been sleeping in their bed.This is an updated version of a story posted at 12:36 this afternoon.
CHICOPEE - Police identified the driver of a car that crashed into a School Street house Tuesday as 66-year-old Patricia A. Naimey, of Springfield.
Naimey was driving west on School Street when she struck a street light, a sign, another street light, a fire hydrant, a stop sign and then crossed Cabot Street to hit the house, Police Lt. Richard M. Nunes said Tuesday afternoon.
Naimey was not injured, police said.
William Flores and his girlfriend were jarred awake early Tuesday morning when a car crashed into the bedroom of their School Street apartment.
“All I can say is we just woke up and the car was in front of the bed,” Flores said. “It missed us by an inch....I looked at the bottom of my feet and my feet were on top of the hood of the car.”
Flores said he and his girlfriend were not injured in the crash. The crash occurred shortly before 6:40 a.m. at 113 School St.
Flores said he heard the driver tell somebody that she had fallen asleep behind the wheel. Police would not comment on that report.
Flores said he got out of bed and walked out of his ruined apartment in little more than a pair of boxers and encountered the driver of the car standing next to a fire engine.
“She says ‘sorry,’” Flores said. “I didn’t see her then after, she disappeared. I don’t know if they took her or what,” Flores said.
The accident is under investigation and no citations had been issued by late afternoon, he said.
Flores, standing outside the apartment several hours later, wrapped in a blanket against the chilly November air, said they had moved into the apartment about two months ago and had no inkling that they could be vulnerable to an errant vehicle.
“We didn’t think about none of that, you know,” he said with a wry laugh. “Now it looks like we have got to think about it.”
As Flores spoke, police, fearful of a potential collapse, warned onlookers not to get too close the building. Flores said he hopes to be able to get inside later today to remove their belongings.”
It appears that the couple’s home will be uninhabitable for a time. “You can’t live with an open area like that,” Flores said.
The apartment received serious damage and is not habitable, Nunes said.
It was an addition built onto a house. He did not know if the house was damaged. The city building inspector did not immediately return calls for comment Tuesday.
Staff writer Jeanette DeForge contributed to this report.