Shirley home flooded by pool after car rams deck, police say

A car struck a deck at a Shirley house late Thursday, forcing the deck into a swimming pool that collapsed and flooded the home, Suffolk County police said.

The driver, John Winn, 32, of Shirley, then threw off his clothes and ran away naked, police said.

The saga started when Winn drove through two lawns, taking out their fences, then hit the deck and the house on Ridgewood Drive about 11:30 p.m., police said.

When the deck hit the pool, it collapsed and flooded the home.

Homeowner Ron Sandolo told News 12 Long Island on Friday morning that he was upstairs at the time of the accident and heard “a big bang” and ran downstairs.

Sandolo said he asked the driver “if he was all right” and he said he was OK.

“I said, ‘Don’t move. You’re probably hurt, you don’t realize it. Stay in the car.’ ”

Sandolo said he went back upstairs and put shoes on, then returned to check on the driver again.

“I asked him again, ‘Are you OK?’ Silence. He was gone.”

Police said it turned out the driver had left the vehicle, took off his clothes and fled.

Officers caught Winn a short time later and he was taken to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center in East Patchogue, police said.

Winn was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, second-degree reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident without reporting it. He will be arraigned at a later date, police said.

Sandolo told News 12 he was “doing fine” despite the destruction to his property.

“It’s a lot of damage,” he said, “but no one got hurt.”

With Ellen Yan