St. Clair Woman Crashes Truck Into House

A woman drove her pickup truck through a garage and into a house on Park Drive in St. Clair Saturday afternoon.

The red pickup came to a stop inside the front living room of the house at 565 Park Drive after plowing into a another pickup truck parked outside the garage and through the garage itself. Part of the home's roof partially collapsed. Both the interior and exterior of the home sustained major damage.

Debris was scattered throughout the living room of the home where the truck came to rest.

No one was home at the time of the incident. The home is owned by Jorge and Sharie Carranza. When they arrived at their home a short time after the mishap, they were not allowed inside their home because of safety factors.

Emergency responders at the scene said the elderly woman driver may have suffered a medical condition as she was traveling west toward the home located on the far corner where Park Drive turns 90 degrees to the south. She missed the turn in the road, drove up the driveway, into the parked pickup, through the garage and into the home.

A witness going east on Park Drive away from the damaged home estimated the woman was going 50 to 60 mph when she passed him near the crest of the hill on Park Drive before the incident occurred. The speed limit is 20 mph.

The impact of the two pickups colliding in the driveway sent the tailgate of the parked pickup onto the roof of the home, spun the parked truck and pushed it into the garage.

Sharie Carranza told The Missourian that she heard it was her next door neighbor, Mary Stinecipher, 555 Park Drive, who was driving the pickup that crashed into her home. The female driver was transported by St. Clair Ambulance personnel to a nearby hospital. Her condition was unknown.

Stinecipher's identity was confirmed a short time later by St. Clair Police Chief Bill Hammack.

A passerby called 911 just before 3 p.m. Both police and fire crews responded as did city Building Inspector Jeremy Crowe.

Fire crews remained on the scene to secure the home as best they could.

See the Wednesday Missourian for more information.