Washington

Runaway Car Crashes Into DC House After Kids Accidentally Put It in Neutral

A Foxhall Village resident narrowly avoided injury when a runaway car crashed into his living room

A late sleeper may have avoided being injured by a runaway car Monday morning because he was still in bed.

A mother left her car in drive while she ran inside her Foxhall Village house to grab something, according to D.C. police. She left her two young boys in the car, and when she noticed the car starting to move, she told them to turn it off.

Instead, the boys accidentally put the car in neutral, and it began rolling backward down a steep hill.

As the car rolled, the mother ran after the car and tried to help the boys stop the car, but she slipped and fell, suffering minor injuries.

A neighbor saw what was going on and attempted to intervene, but by that time the car had picked up too much speed. It crashed into a house in the 4500 block of Q Place NW.

Milo Lynch was sleeping in his parents' house when the car crashed into their living room. He said he's glad everyone in his family is fine.

"If we were anywhere in the kitchen or living room, it could've been really bad," Lynch said. "I'm glad I'm a late sleeper, basically."

Everyone involved appears fine, though the mother who fell and her two boys were taken to the hospital to be safe, police said.

The house, however, has been condemned. Lynch said his family still needs to figure out where they will live, but he's feeling especially grateful after the incident.

"Tell your family you love them all the time," Lynch said. "You never know what could happen, I guess."

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