Woman's car hits home on East Elm Street
By John Joyce
Published in News on December 30, 2014 1:46 PM
A Goldsboro woman is charged with careless and reckless driving and driving without insurance after her car crashed into a residence on East Elm Street at 5:30 p.m. Monday.
The car smashed first into a heating and air conditioning unit and narrowly avoided puncturing a natural gas line.
No one inside the home was injured, but the home was evacuated due to the potential for a gas leak.
According to the Goldsboro police accident report, Carolyn Denise Sanders, 52, 905 Poplar St., was traveling south on Herman Street at a high rate of speed. She said she hit the brakes and the brakes failed.
The car then ran the stop sign at East Elm Street, crossed the intersection and struck the residence at 900 E. Elm St., the report said.
"We cut the power to the heating unit. The gas had already been cut off because they hadn't been using it," Assistant Fire Chief James Farfour said.
Farfour said the residents were evacuated from the home as a precaution.
"There is still the natural gas line that comes up out of the ground. She hit right above where it was, but any lower, and we could have had a problem," he said.
Mrs. Sanders was evaluated by Wayne County EMS, but refused transport to Wayne Memorial Hospital.
The total estimated cost of the damage to the heating unit and to the residence is listed on the report at $8,000.