'Felt like an earthquake': Driver slams into house in London, Ont.

A London woman says she’s lucky to be alive after a pickup truck slammed into her front porch Saturday morning, just a few feet from where she was sleeping.

“My head is two feet away and I’m lucky my head is not in between the bricks,” the female homeowner who wished not to be identified tells CTV News London.

“It's just scary, and I looked out the window and the entire porch was missing,” she adds.

Just after 1:15 a.m., a black truck was travelling southbound on Adelaide Street at Hamilton Road when the truck took out a hydro pole and then slammed into the side of the house on Adelaide Street.

A black pickup slammed into the front porch of a house on Adelaide Street in London, Ont. in the early morning hours of Oct. 22, 2022. The driver has been charged with three criminal code offences. (Source: Submitted).

“It kind of like seemed like a major earthquake or something, and the house was shaking,” she says.

Multiple first responders arrived on scene, and the male driver of the truck was arrested by the London Police Service and charged with three criminal code offences. He is charged with failure to stop after an accident, refusal to comply with demand and impaired operation of a motor vehicle.

The truck was removed around 5:30 a.m., and by Saturday morning building officials with the City of London were on scene to assess the damage.

“The damage is significant, and mostly to the front porch,” says Peter Kokkoros, the city’s chief building official.

A photo shows a homeowner's bed just a few feet away from where a truck crashed into the front porch of a house on Adelaide Street in London, Ont. in the early morning hours of Oct. 22, 2022. (Source: Submitted)

He adds, “We need to shore up the porch because there are structural members that are missing with respect to the roof over the porch. There is a lot of brick that needs to be removed, and after that, we will be dealing with the owner of the building to address any building code matters that need to be followed up on.”

Kokkoros says with the exception of the front porch and roof, there is no structural damage to the rest of the home. There is no need to evacuate, and the occupants can remain.

Still shaken up and having only slept for less than an hour, the homeowner was feeling lucky.

“I'm grateful for life, and life has meaning,” she says.