Four area residents are without a house after police say a car struck their West College Avenue home early Wednesday morning, an incident that left the driver of the car with serious injuries, a hospital spokesman said.
Police say a 1995 Mercedes Benz driven by Nick Skladany struck a home at 820 W. College Ave. at about 12:52 a.m. Wednesday "with such force that significant damage occurred to the building's foundation and outside masonry."
Police said windows and a large number of bricks were also knocked out of the opposite side of the house, and it appeared the whole house may have been shifted.
Brianna Kenly, 18, a resident of the house, said the bottom story of the house was shifted about 3.5 inches off its foundation.
She said her landlord told residents the house will be uninhabitable for at least three months, adding firefighters told her the house will most likely be bulldozed.
Skladany is in serious condition, a Geisinger Medical Center spokesman said Wednesday afternoon.
Skladany, who complained of severe leg pain and facial injuries, was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center and later flown to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville for treatment of a fractured pelvis, police said.
The name and address provided for Skladany on the police report match those of an undergraduate student listed in the Penn State directory.
Kenly said she and her boyfriend, Doug Allen, 26, were at the house at the time of the accident.
Allen said he was in the living room when Skladany's vehicle struck the house. He said, upon impact, the television "exploded" and glass flew through the house. He added an 85-pound speaker was blown across the room, missing his leg by about seven inches.
"Firefighters told me if I hadn't been in a solid brick house, being that close to the accident, I wouldn't be standing there talking to them," said Allen, adding he suffered from pain in his back and ribs as a result of the force generated by the impact.
According to a State College Police accident report, Skladany, 21, of 633 E. Hamilton Ave., was driving eastbound on the 900 block of West College Avenue, traveling at 55 mph in a 25-mph zone. An on-duty Ferguson Township Police officer pulled out from the Mini Mart on 913 W. College Ave. to follow Skladany when Skladany failed to make the right turn onto Buckhout Street, police said.
Police said Skladany continued straight, striking a concrete traffic barrier, a street sign, a curb, a wooden post, a chain bordering a corner parking lot, another wooden post, another chain and the house.
Police who were at the scene said they suspected Skladany had been drinking, according to the police report. At 3:25 a.m., about two-and-half hours after the accident, his blood alcohol content was .190, police said.
Residents of the house were evacuated, police said. They were allowed in at about 2:30 a.m. and later in the day Wednesday to gather belongings, Kenly said.
Kenly said she and Allen are staying at the Ramada Conference Center and the other residents of the house, Rob Cammann, 21, and Nicole Kenly, 23, are staying with friends.
Allen said he approached the car after it struck the house. At that time, Skladany was moving "slightly" but was unable to speak, Allen said.
Police said Skladany and the front passenger had to be removed from the vehicle. Both were trapped in their seats because of severe damage to the front of the car. Police said the dashboard was "pushed in over their legs."
The passenger in the rear could walk and speak, police said.
All three people in the vehicle were injured and were taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center, police said. The passengers were Elliot Wells, of New Platz, N.Y., and Jacob Beyer, of Coon Rapids, Minn.
Mount Nittany Medical Center could not release information on the conditions of the two passengers.
