By Linda Trischitta and Joe Cavaretta
The Sun Sentinel
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — An elderly Hollywood couple escaped with bumps and bruises Tuesday after an SUV plowed into their bedroom in the middle of the night.
“I thought the roof fell in,” Yvonne Abouzeide, 83, said. “My husband tells me, ‘Get up, there’s a car in the room.’”
Yvonne and Jacques Abouzeide, 81, have lived 15 years in a one-bedroom, ground floor unit at the Driftwood Terrace Apartments at 7300 Davie Road Extension.
Crash debris at the scene implied that the SUV crashed through a metal fence along the property’s edge, crossed a landscaped median, knocked down a light pole and went through the wall of the couple’s bedroom.
The rude awakening happened about 2 a.m.
The driver, 57, was not identified by authorities. He had minor injuries, Hollywood police spokesman Jaime Hernandez said.
“The driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the building,” Hernandez said. “The cause of the crash is under investigation.”
Jacques Abouzeide said he heard “a big boom.” The truck’s collision with their bed left them both on the floor as the SUV loomed above, its engine still running.
The room was filled with debris, dust and smoke, they said.
“I was afraid because they said it might explode,” Yvonne Abouzeide said.
A firefighter climbed over the truck to help her outside, to where her husband waited.
“I was climbing over all kinds of things,” she said.
The SUV driver was unconscious and still behind the wheel, she said.
Inside the home, a mattress was folded in half like a taco, along with a headboard that was crushed against a wall.
Hollywood Fire Rescue took Yvonne Abouzeide and the driver of the SUV to be examined at Memorial Regional Hospital in the city, Battalion Chief Christopher Del Campo said.
The couple said they received minor scrapes and bruises. Later in the morning as Jacques Abouzeide stood in what was once their bedroom, tree branches and the SUV’s battery and front bumper littered the floor.
Outside, neighbors in bathrobes were recording the scene on their cellphones.
The community is between Stirling Road and Sheridan Street, west of Florida’s Turnpike and east of North University Drive.
The Abouzeides can remain in their apartment if they want to, a city official said.
“We put plywood on the outside,” said Tim Schwartz, executive director of the Hollywood Housing Authority, which manages Driftwood Terrace. “The building has integrity and they don’t have to leave. If they feel differently, I’ve told them to let me know.”
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