"Local Family displaced by car crash in Ohsweken"

Just after midnight on Friday, September 4, a vehicle colliding into a house on Fourth Line was reported to Six Nations police; leaving Crystal Jacobs charged with Impaired Driving, Over 80, Dangerous Driving and Mischief Over $5000.

The house is located almost directly across from Woodlawn Road and very close to neighbouring houses and the road in front. It has been nearly two weeks since and the family has been told the house is "unrepairable."

Nathan White explained that the ordeal happened on his birthday and after having his family removed from the house, he felt lost.

"Where do I start?" said White. "They shut off the hydro and gas and everything, there was a gas leak so we had to get out of there quick after that happened. The two little ones were in that room (the room receiving the car impact), it was at about one o'clock," he said.

"Basically, I was in the shower then I don't know, the whole house shifted where I was standing and I jumped out and I ran out there. She (Tanya) was just sleeping on the couch so she just wakes up, and she thought something just fell off the wall or something. Then I said 'no the whole house shifted,' then I ran into these guys' bedroom, or our bedroom 'cause they were sleeping in it at the time. Then I see the wall all pushed in and the insulation and all that," explained White.

Mother of their four children, Tanya Martin had been sleeping on their couch before being woken by the crash. She explained the ordeal of losing their home as "horrible."

"We asked the police if the driver was drunk," said Martin. "We could tell when she got out of the vehicle. Cause she was just getting out of her car when we opened the door, and when she went to walk away you could tell she was drunk," she said.

Martin explained that the driver knew she was in the wrong and didn't attempt to leave.

"She was still there, but Nathan was mad and told her to get out of here and whatever. So she just went on the sidewalk and waited for the police to get there," she said.

"If that steel beam wasn't there she would have went right through our house, that's what saved these guys," she said. "They did a breathalyzer and they said it was over 80," she said, explaining that the driver had just come from Moccasin Trail.

In Canada, 0.08 (or 8%) is the legal limit of alcohol to have within the blood stream, which is equivalent to about one drink. "Over" 0.80 would indicate that the driver's blood was over 80% alcohol.

Martin explained that the contractor initially told them their house could be fixed, and the family had one day to remove their belongings from the house. They then borrowed money to pay for a storage bin, but were told the house was unrepairable on Wednesday.

"We went to housing but they didn't have anything," she said. "We went there twice, now we're back at our parents' house," she said.

"The kids were crying and screaming and not sleeping that night, the two little ones were too tired for school. They woke up at one and they didn't go back to sleep until five," she said.

"His (Nathan's) mom was talking about fundraising, so I think she'll throw something together, hopefully for a new place," she said.

White explained that the cupboards had emptied onto the floor from the impact and a small flat screen had fallen on his eldest daughter.

"I ran out and I saw that lady and the whole nose end of her vehicle was right into the house. Then she was getting out, she had one foot out and I lost it," he said, as he told the driver his children were in the room she crashed into. "Everything I was saying she pretty much admitted to it, 'yeah I know I'm stupid,' 'yeah I know, call the cops on me,' that's what she was saying," he said.

White explained that there was a high beam within the house that prevented the car from going straight through; he said the contractor told them it was bent 18 inches from the crash.

"It was horrible, pretty much turned our life upside down. We just got settled in but this will ruin our lives for a bit," he said.

White said he visited Welfare for help, but only received $100 to feed their four children. He further explained that the family of the driver and the driver herself did not offer an apology.