PANAMA CITY — A woman was at her Panama City apartment Friday night when the driver of an SUV crashed through her front door.
Panama City police, the Panama City Fire Department and emergency medical personnel responded to the crash at Joe’s Apartments on West 15th Street and Foster Avenue shortly after 6:30 p.m. Gloria Perrier, who lives in the apartment, suffered scrapes and bruises in the incident, but had no serious injuries. The driver of the SUV and several passengers were not injured.
Perrier said she was talking on the phone with her daughter when she heard tires squealing. A moment later, the SUV plowed through her front door and knocked down most of the surrounding wall.
“I told my daughter, ‘I’ve got to go. I just got hit by a car,’ ” Perrier said.
The crash sent concrete blocks flying into the apartment, destroying a chair, dresser and television set while wedging the SUV in the wall. Perrier left her apartment by climbing out a broken window with the assistance of fire personnel. Later, when the SUV was being pulled from the apartment by a tow truck, firefighters used wooden beams to support the structure. The crash sent cracks rippling through the walls, leaving them vulnerable to collapse.
Perrier’s neighbor, Garland McGuire, was watching TV when the crash happened.
“I just heard someone braking real hard and then sliding and then a big boom,” he said. “And then I went outside and I didn’t know what to think.”
The SUV was traveling westbound on West 15th Street when a car traveling eastbound hydroplaned as it entered the shared turn lane, according to passengers in both vehicles. The driver of the SUV swerved to avoid a collision, and traveled over the curb into Perrier’s apartment. The identities of the drivers were not available Friday night.
No charges had been filed in the incident Friday night. An investigation is ongoing.