OTAY MESA, Calif. — 3 months after a car plunged into a home in a cul-de-sac in Otay Mesa, the family living there remains displaced, and the crash scene is largely unchanged.
A neighbor's surveillance video captured the moment a car driven by a 74-year-old neighbor flew straight into the closed garage of the home at the end of Offshore Point. Police have not released a cause for the crash.
In the minute before the crash, on that May afternoon, resident Manoela Domingos had moved her 3 children and dog from the dining room to the backyard pool area.
"I heard a boom, like an explosion," Domingos said. “It was very close to hurting my family.”
The sound sent her racing to the driveway, where an older woman was emerging from the garage.
"She said my car is inside," Domingos said.
Inside the home, the dining room remains a surreal sight — the neighbor's car is still impaled in the garage wall, near a toppled water heater. Domingos' minivan also remains trapped in the garage. She says neither vehicle can be safely removed because the structure beams in the garage are damaged.
"Bedroom can collapse on top of garage," Domingos said.
With parts of the home unstable, fire crews helped Domingos remove some items before the family left for an Airbnb.
The Domingos family had been renting the home for a year and a half and mistakenly believed their rental agreement included renters insurance. It did not. The family has been paying out of pocket for temporary housing, hoping repairs would happen quickly. Domingos and her husband had also contributed to home improvements, including in the pool area.
"We made house for kids and now we lost everything," Domingos said.
As the homeowner's insurance process drags out, the timeline for repairs remains unknown, forcing Domingos to look for permanent housing elsewhere.
"Unbelievable situation. Many people say this can't be happening in my life," Domingos said. “Feels very unfair.”
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