A Mercedes-Benz pickup truck drove through the garage wall at Parlee Farm in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, Tuesday morning.
No one was hurt, but the crash left the entire house without power, leaving them with no way to bring water to the horses, and with a lot of damage to the historic home to deal with.
Grazing horses are often the first thing people notice when driving past Parlee Farm in Chelmsford. But on Independence Day, there was a red van sticking out from the other side of the garage on Proctor Street.
“You don’t see the front of the vehicle sticking out of a building that often,” said Chelmsford Fire Captain Danielle Koutsoufis.
Firefighters say it happened around 8:30 in the morning. The 63-year-old homeowner was backing out of the garage when she hit a parked car, panicked, and then sped straight through the rear wall, leaving a 10×7 hole.
Police say two-thirds of the vehicle had broken through the wall and one-third was held back by the garage’s foundation.
“What they told us is that she started it and the car took her away,” Koutsoufis said.
The Mercedes was towed from the scene, but the driver was not injured.
“I was a little shocked, I mean, it’s a traumatic event to be in a car accident,” Koutsoufis said.
The impact severed gas and electric lines, prompting National Grid to shut off both the house’s utilities and the entire farm.
One of the main concerns was finding a way to get water for the horses on the property.
The building commissioner decides not to condemn the house after seeing the owners’ repair plans.
“We’re lucky the car basically went through what is a curtain wall. So it’s not bearing any load,” Chelmsford resident Shirley Kimball told NBC10 Boston.
With friends and community members visiting throughout the day to help clean up, cover up the wall and offer moral support.
“I said I wanted to come over and see if I could give you a hug,” Kimball added.
It’s unclear when the farm will get power back, but NBC10 Boston was told the owners were working to install a generator to get water for the horses.
Police say they did not detect any signs of impairment in the driver and no charges have been filed.
