Homeowner Jose Gonzalez said witnesses told him the driver was asleep at the time of the incident
Credit: Eyewitness News ABC7NY/YouTube
NEED TO KNOW
- A Chester, N.Y., homeowner said a Tesla crashed into his house while he was sitting on his couch, throwing him from the sofa and briefly knocking him unconscious
- Jose Gonzalez said he suffered neck, shoulder and back pain and spent several days in the hospital; neighbors allegedly told him the driver appeared to be asleep at the wheel
- Police said the cause of the Aug. 30 crash remains under investigation
A man says a Tesla plowed into the living room of his New York home and knocked him unconscious while he was sitting on his couch.
The alleged incident occurred on Aug. 30, according to the homeowner, Jose Gonzalez, per local outlet ABC 7.
Gonzalez said the Tesla was traveling south when it passed through a stop sign at an intersection and crashed into his Chester home, throwing him from his couch.
The man said he was “knocked out” from the impact and has since experienced lasting pain throughout his body.
“My neck is stiff. My shoulder is hurting me and my upper and lower back. It was a good impact — it knocked me out for a few seconds,” Gonzalez said while speaking to the outlet.
Gonzalez said two of his neighbors witnessed the accident and rushed to help. He claimed the neighbors also told him that the driver had been asleep at the wheel when the incident occurred.
“There’s two people running towards me saying, ‘He’s asleep. He’s asleep.’ And then when I look to the side, I see the Tesla right in the house,” Gonzalez recalled.
He added that he was then able to see the driver for himself, claiming that the driver was “still out” at that time.
Video of the aftermath shared by ABC 7 shows a gray Tesla on the front porch of a home on a suburban street. The hood of the vehicle appears to have crashed through the front of the house. Debris is scattered around the scene, and one of the home’s windows appears to be broken.
Gonzalez said he spent several days in the hospital following the crash, and he is currently waiting for the final police report on the incident. He added that he personally believes the crash was caused by a mix of human and mechanical error.
“The car should have recognized the stop sign, should have recognized the street ended … So there was human error … and technical error as well,” he explained.
Tesla did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the incident.
In a statement to ABC 7, Chester police said investigators are still working to determine the cause of the crash.
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“We are still trying to determine if this collision was the fault of the vehicle, the fault of the driver or any other environmental factor,” they said, per the outlet.
The Chester Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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