College Hills Family Gets Early Christmas Present: A Car Crashes into Their House

Rosemary Espinosa was in her home that sits on the corner of Oak Forest Drive and College Hills wrapping presents late into the early Sunday morning hours for her grandchildren whom she was expecting later in the day. Her son is in the U.S. Military and was scheduled to come home with his family for the holidays. At approximately 2:55 a.m., she heard a loud crash outside here home.

“I heard the crash and went outside to see what happened,” Espinosa said. “I saw this man who had crashed into my house and asked if he was okay.”

After Espinosa verified the man was unhurt, San Angelo police were dispatched to the site. She said after she checked on the driver's well being, she started to feel angry because the man crashed into her brand new smart car of two months and her garage, causing damage to both along with the inside wall structure of her kitchen. She realized what a close call it was had she and her husband not been the only ones in the home.

“He pushed the Harley [parked inside the garage] into the wall inside. We just remodeled that [area],” she said about the damage. “I’m so glad my grandkids weren’t here yet because this would have scared them, or they could have been hurt.”

Jose Espinosa, who works out of town in the oilfield and came home for the day since he was working close by, said when SAPD officers showed up, he heard the man, possibly a nearby resident since he walked home from the scene after the site was cleaned up and the investigation concluded, tell officers, “I was tired. I shouldn’t have been driving.”

Jose Espinosa added that the driver came at the house pretty fast. He drove over the curb, through the grass and crashed into the car and garage.

“[Officers] didn’t even do a sobriety test or anything on him,” he added.

The Espinosa’s explained that SAPD officers at the scene were very nice when they took insurance information from them, but they never explained completely what would take place. Also, the man, who waited around and stood with his head down and hands in his pockets as a tow truck loaded up Rosemary’s new car, never addressed the couple.

Rosemary said, “I hope he’s going to pay for this. I guess there’s going to be a report, but they haven’t told me much of anything.”

An SAPD official confirmed the driver did fall asleep while driving, and he veered off the roadway striking the parked smart car in the Espinosas' driveway, which pushed it into the interior wall of the house. The official added that the driver was cited with a warning and no injuries were reported.

The Espinosas, originally from Sonora, said they have lived in their home for many years, and many San Angelo drivers have crashed into the other corner homes around them. This is the first time it's happened to them.