A Westchester woman was victimized twice in as many days after a car slammed into her home Monday evening and, while she was displaced, burglars ransacked the residence.
The son of homeowner Flora Pazos said his mother left the home Monday night after the electricity was turned off following the damage. While she was away, the home was burglarized and ransacked.
Deputies investigate burglary at damaged home
Deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office were investigating the burglary Tuesday on S.W. 34th Street. So far, there are no suspects.
Surveillance video shows sedan speeding
Around 5 p.m. Monday, surveillance video from a neighbor’s home captured a dark-colored sedan speeding through a stop sign. A man who showed up at the scene was also seen running down the street to check on the driver.
Juvenile driver crashes into residence
“I just came out of the bathroom and then all of a sudden I heard an explosion coming from the roof,” Pazos said. “The car was right there. My body was shaking. The whole house was filled with smoke and there was a smell of burned materials. The plumbing broke and there was water everywhere. They had to cut the electricity.”
Video from Pazos’s home shows how the car, which authorities said was driven by a juvenile girl, plowed through a wall and hit the home, shattering glass and concrete and destroying Pazos’s bathroom.
Neighbors describe loud boom and chaos
“So I came up walking my dog to the corner and I came walking back like she was crying out let’s get out of here and I heard a great big boom,” neighbor Sandy Ballart said. “It sounded like an explosion. It sounded like a transformer bursting.”
“I am surprised,” Ballart said when she heard about the burglary. “This doesn’t happen in this neighborhood. This is a really good neighborhood.”
“I heard a powerful boom,” another witness said. “My first impression was that a transformer blew up. The car went straight through the stop sign and went through the wall and into the residence.”
Driver hospitalized, faces possible penalties
The driver has not been identified. She was transported to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital in stable condition and could face civil penalties.
“I feel really bad for her,” Ballart said. “She was alive. We are all so happy to see she was OK but she was screaming with pain in her leg.”
Homeowner left uninsured after destruction
Pazos’s son said his mother faces another challenge. He said she was not insured for the damages to her home.
