Two families are without a home, following a fiery crash in Chilliwack early Tuesday morning, that saw a car smash through the lower level of the home prior to catching fire.
Police remained on scene Wednesday, as engineers worked to see whether the vehicle can be removed.
Amanda Brewster, who lived in the upper level of the home with her four children says she had just fallen asleep when she was awoken by the vehicle barreling into the home.
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“I jumped out of bed and I could hear my downstairs neighbour screaming. I ran outside to the front and I came around the corner, and I can see the vehicle inside the house. I was in so much shock and there was so much dust and smoke everywhere,” said Brewster.
More than two dozen firefighters responded to the blaze, which quickly spread to the second level of the home where Brewster and her children had been sleeping just moments earlier.
The mother of four says it’s a miracle no one was seriously hurt, considering the car nearly landed in the bedroom of her downstairs neighbour.
“It went through the living room and the hood of the car was where her bed is in her bedroom. So if she was in bed and she wasn’t awake it could have been so much worse.”
Investigators believe that alcohol may have played a role in the crash, Brewster says the driver was clearly disoriented following the crash.
“He didn’t know left and right what he was doing, where he was going. And then, thankfully, the first responders that showed up were the cops, and they got him right away,” said Brewster.
Brewster has been unable to re-enter her home, as crews determine whether the residence is still structurally sound.
But while her family has likely lost everything, they still have each-other.
“Considering that we don’t have a home anymore, but I think everybody’s just happy that we’re alive and all our cats are alive.”
A GoFundMe has been started by a family friend, and has already raised over $1500.
