A young Van Buren County man somehow managed to escape a car crash largely uninjured a few days ago, which makes him very lucky indeed. However, even more amazing is the fact that he had three teenagers in the car with him at the time – all of whom are also miraculously unharmed. The object he collided with was not another car, but a house!

But “driver unharmed” does not mean “driver unaffected”, and there are very serious consequences for this particular situation. According to the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office, the accident took place at about 11pm in Decatur. The driver, a 22-year-old man, was behind the wheel of his 1997 Cadillac, with three teenaged passengers when he lost control of the vehicle on Parkhurst Drive.

He apparently didn’t stop for the stop sign at the M-51 intersection and, as a result, crashed into a home. Immediately after the collision, three of the four people in the vehicle fled on foot. The sheriff’s K-9 unit was able to track the driver to a nearby shed, where he had taken refuge under a tarp in the hopes of not being found.

Both of the other teenagers who had run from the scene was also rounded up, and police set about deciding what to do with each one. The 13 and 16 year-olds were released into the custody of their families, while the 17-year old was arrested and charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol.

The driver was treated for very minor injuries at a local hospital and then transported to the Van Buren County Jail, where he will remain. He is currently facing a number of charges, including Illegal entry, violating a conditional bond ( he was apparently not permitted to consume alcohol on orders from a judge), OWI with an occupant under the age of 16, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, and Operating while intoxicated.