Teenage Boy Crashes Stolen SUV Into Artesia Home, No One Hurt

Residents inside a one-story Artesia home were awakened by a startling sound this morning when a teenage boy driving a stolen Chevy Tahoe slammed into their home, a sheriff's sergeant said. 

No one inside the residence was hurt in the crash, which occurred at the corner of Clarkdale Avenue and 183rd Street about 2:25 a.m., according to a sergeant at the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Lakewood Station.

The boy was arrested near the crash scene shortly after the accident, the sergeant said. The boy's name was not release because of his age. 

The SUV appeared to have mowed down a fence, a short block wall in front of the home, then jumped a roughly three-foot porch before slamming into the front door of the residence. The homeowners managed to avert injury as they were sleeping in the rear of the property. The son of the homeowners told Patch that a China cabinet that was once in the front of the home, ended up in the kitchen from the impact of the crash.

Virgina Martins, 73, who has lived in the home for almost 40 years told a KTLA reporter at the scene that this is not the first time a vehicle has struck her property. 

"This is the third or fourth time a car has broken through the fence - but the first time it's hit the house," she told the station.

"Thank God we have good insurance ... just hoping everything is covered," resident Joe Martins told KTLA. "Were still waiting for them to come out and assess the damage."

The home was red tagged after the SUV was pulled off the property. Building inspectors will be assessing the damage to determine if the house is safe to occupy, Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Don Kunitomi said.