Car strikes home in LaSalle, driver in serious condition

A LaSalle man is in serious condition and facing an impaired driving charge after a car collided with an attached garage of a home, according to police.

It happened in the 6700 block of Malden Road near Bouffard around 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

After investigating, police say the vehicle had been travelling west on Bouffard Road and didn’t stop at the stop sign at Malden Road.

The vehicle struck a parked vehicle on the driveway then crashed through the attached residential garage door, coming to rest inside the garage.

Police say there was extensive structural damage to the garage area of the home as well as the contents of the garage.Car strikes home in LaSalle, Ont., on Wednesday, March 22, 2023. (Bob Bellacicco/CTV News Windsor)

The residents who were home at the time were not injured.

HOMEOWNER IN SHOCK

The homeowner, who did not want to be named, said she’s in “shock.”

She was getting ready to go to bed when she heard a big bang that startled her. She discovered vehicle in her garage and saw injured driver. She then called for an emergency response.

She calls the experience “nerve wracking.”

The homeowner said she had a few sentimental things in the garage that are lost because of the incident.

“They’re just things though. Once we were able to sort of settle down from the initial impact it’s ok. It’ll be replaced. I’m just glad from what I’m hearing everyone is ok,” she said.

FIRST TIME OCCURRENCE

According to the homeowner, this is the first time since moving in two years ago someone has missed the stop sign and struck the house.

“Maybe it's about time to close off Bouffard, you know like the future, like what they plan to do, you know, because look at it,” a neighbour suggested.   

Malden Road cuts between an offset at Bouffard Road. Realignment is an issue town council approved last year as part of a two-phase expansion of Malden Road. 

“Phase one is being broken up from Normandy up to and including Reaume, and phase two will be everything south of Reaume,” said town Deputy CAO Peter Marra.  

Town councilor Jeff Renaud pointed out there are many things to do in both phases of the project.

“Keep in mind we have to acquire property. We have to do all the infrastructure underneath the road. We have to do all the streetscaping above. It's a big big project,” said Renaud.  

Marra anticipates phase one construction to begin in 2025.

“Anything south of Reaume Road is growth dependent and so that will occur probably in about the 6-10 year timeframe and it's really growth dependent and the houses being built up in that area,” said Marra.

DRIVER CHARGED

A 48-year-old LaSalle man has been charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle.

Anyone in the area that has an exterior video surveillance system or anyone with a dashcam in their vehicle that may have been driving on Bouffard or Malden Road just before 1 a.m., are asked to check their footage and to contact the LaSalle Police Service with any information.

Anonymous tips can be left with Crime Stoppers at 519 258-8744 – www.catchcrooks.com.

With files from CTV News Windsor's Bob Bellacicco.