Unlicensed driver plows into Huntington Station home, cops say
Firefighters needed about a half-hour to extinguish a fire at a Huntington Station home which was ignited after the driver of a sport utility vehicle crashed into the house in the 100 block of Hillwood Drive early Tuesday, May 6, 2014. Credit: James Carbone
Neither an unlicensed driver nor the sole occupant of a Huntington Station home was injured early Tuesday when a car crashed into the house, igniting a fire, Suffolk County police said.
The car crashed into the front of the house on Hillwood Drive, near Richmond Place, about 5:25 a.m., police said.
Amy Worth was in a back bedroom of the house when a "very, very loud noise" broke her sleep.
"I ran out the back and around the front and saw a car crashed into the house," she said.
Kim Valerio, a former Newsday employee who owns the house and lives in a home next to it, said the house caught fire.
The "fairly large flame" took firefighters about half an hour to put out, she said.
The driver, Dinia Chirinos, 22, of Huntington Station, was charged with unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, police said. She was arraigned Tuesday and held on $5,000 cash bail.
Police said Chirinos lost control of the 2001 Subaru Forester while driving south on Hillwood Drive, then drove across two lawns and a fence before crashing into the house.
Chirinos told police the brakes failed. Her vehicle was impounded for a safety check.
Her attorney, Michael Kennedy, said a friend had loaned her the car. "It's hard to be in charge of maintenance of a vehicle you've borrowed."
