SUV hits Va. Beach home: "It felt like an earthquake"

VIRGINIA BEACH

The driver of a 2007 Toyota Highlander lost control of the vehicle Wednesday and careened about 50 feet off the road, plowing through two fences and into the first floor of a brick townhome.

Police said the driver and two passengers - an adult woman and a young girl - suffered minor injuries and were transported to the hospital for treatment. No one inside the home was injured.

Tamika Mosley was getting ready for work around noon when the crash shook her home in the 2400 block of Julie Court.

She ran to the top of the staircase to see if her teenage son was all right. But the stairs were gone. In their place was the front end of the sport utility vehicle.

Mosley called out to her son, fearing he'd been buried in the rubble. A flood of relief followed his response that he was OK.

Mosley, her boyfriend and her 4-year-old daughter were stuck upstairs until a neighbor provided a ladder to help them escape through a back window. Mosley's teenage son, 17-year-old Devonte Springs, walked out untouched.

The driver, a woman in her 60s, said her brakes didn't work, said Officer Adam Bernstein, a police spokesman.

"She kept saying, 'I couldn't brake. I couldn't brake,' " said 34-year-old Alisha McIntosh, who lives next door and saw the crash.

"It felt like an earthquake," Mosley, 34, said. "The floor felt like it was going to come out from under you."

Since fall, Toyota has recalled more than 8 million vehicles worldwide because of sticking accelerators, floor mats that snag gas pedals and braking problems in the Prius hybrid.

The 2008- 10 Highlander models are included in the recalls, but not the 2007 model, according to Toyota's Web site.

In November, three West Virginians sued the company claiming their Toyotas accelerate on their own. One of the plaintiffs owns a 2007 Toyota Highlander.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says 52 people have died in crashes linked to acceleration problems in Toyotas.

Neighbor Gary Wheatley Jr. said he was home sick watching The History Channel when he heard the crash Wednesday afternoon. The former volunteer firefighter grabbed his first-aid kit and a ladder and ran to help.

He said he gave bandages to the girl from the SUV, who had a bloody nose, before helping his neighbors escape from the damaged townhome.

Firefighters, police and paramedics responded a few minutes later and provided medical treatment to the SUV's passengers.

City officials condemned the townhome, which is part of Triple Oaks condominiums.

Mosley, Springs, Damien Wyatt, 28, and Arianna Wyatt, 4, will have to find another place to stay.

Wyatt owns the home and said he has insurance to fix the damage.

"We're all blessed," Mosley said. "We'll be fine, I hope."

Pilot writer Cindy Clayton, Pilot researcher Jakon Hays and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com