Crashed Car Still Attached To Darien House

DARIEN, IL – More than a month ago, a car crashed into a house in a Darien neighborhood. The car is still attached to the house.

"It's a very unique case," Dan Gombac, Darien's municipal services director, said in an interview Wednesday. "As soon as the car pulls out, it's basically going to break down the house."

The city deemed the house in the 1800 block of Timber Lane uninhabitable and red-tagged it.

On the afternoon of July 1, an 18-year-old man went off the road and drove through the yards of two other houses on Timber Lane before striking the southwest corner of the home owned by Corey and Ashley Devlin.

Two people were inside the house at the time, but were not injured.

According to the police report, the 18-year-old, who was described as distraught, told officers he had gotten off work from his construction job in Plainfield.

The man, a Timber Lane resident, said he fell asleep before the crash. He said he remembered stopping at a nearby stop sign, but woke up when he struck the house, according to the report.

Police said they did not detect that the man was impaired in any way, with the man saying he had no medical conditions. The man told officers his work involves difficult labor, possibly contributing to his falling asleep.

The man was not cited, police said.

In a text message, Corey Devlin, the homeowner, told Patch the driver was not impaired and that he did not leave the site of the crash. If the car is removed without a proper engineering assessment, he said, the house would likely partially collapse near the damaged area.

Devlin said the delay is because of the insurance company's "incredibly slow process." He said he hoped the car would be removed by next week.

"We have the proper people waiting to go to work and have been waiting since 7/5/24 just waiting on insurance," he told Patch in the text. "We’ve been passed around to multiple adjusters and wrong departments."

Gombac said the city aims to be understanding, but wants to see action to correct the issue.

"We're currently reviewing with the homeowner and responsible party for an update," Gombac said. "We're trying to be sympathetic. Now, it's getting to the point that someone has to do something. There's been a good amount of time we have been patient."