Teen driver crashes into house, missing sleeping occupant

SALT LAKE CITY — A family is grateful to be together after a teen driver crashed the car he was driving into a bedroom of a home Thursday night.

Salt Lake City police detective Bryce Johnson said the young driver likely was going between 40 mph and 60 mph on the 25 mph road, missing a turn and crashing into the home at 1968 Sir James Drive (680 North). 

"If there had been a person there, I don't know how they would have survived that," Johnson said.

Francisco Ayala, 16, was asleep in the room when the car slammed through the wall. He said he woke up, coughing and confused, then climbed out of the house through the hole the vehicle had left to find his mother.

"She just grabbed me and started hugging me," he said.

The teen driver, who had only a learner's permit, had some cuts on his face but was otherwise uninjured. The driver was cited for traffic violations and released. 

Contributing: Alex Cabrero 

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