CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — A Cleveland Heights man is now dealing with major damage to his home after a police chase ended in a crash with the car lodged inside his kitchen. It happened early on Friday morning at the intersection of South Taylor Road and Fairmount Boulevard.
John Gall said he was sleeping inside his home when just after midnight on Friday morning a car came crashing through his brick bungalow.
"There was a car in my kitchen and police with guns swarming around the house," Gall said. "I stuck my head out the broken front window and said 'please don't shoot me, I'm the homeowner.'"
Gall said Cleveland Heights Police officers on the scene told him they were chasing the driver on South Taylor Road right before the driver crashed.
"I understand pursuits. I'm not sure I understand 85 miles an hour coming down Taylor road here," he said.
Gall said he never saw the driver, but added he witnessed the person being taken away in an ambulance.
Todd Freeman lives next door. He said car accidents at this intersection are so common that when he came outside to see what happened, he wasn't surprised.
"I was sound asleep. As soon as I heard the hit, I knew that one of the two houses had been hit by a car. I mean I knew the sound well by now," Freeman said.
This is not the first time Gall's property has been damaged by accidents. In 2012, News 5 covered a crash at his home where his truck was hit by a vehicle. Gall said since then he has been proactive about getting more protective guarding at the intersection to prevent damage to his home. But, Gall said, his requests to city hall have been denied.
"I talked to City Hall about it in the past and they claim that the putting up of a guardrail, which would've probably prevented a majority of this, was unaesthetic and not pleasing to the neighborhood so they rejected that," he said. "I'm going to have to seek more drastic measures in the future, I think. I'm not sure what that will be but they will find out."
News 5 reached out to the city to see what it would take to get a guard rail in front of a home and they said they would respond next week.
Daylight photos show more of the damage caused by the crash.
The kitchen is destroyed.
Cleveland Heights Police tell News 5 the crash began after an officer attempted to make a traffic stop. The driver of the car was taken to the hospital and is in custody.
