Gwinnett Daily Post

LAWRENCEVILLE - An unlicensed driver lost control on a residential street Tuesday afternoon and steered his utility truck through the brick wall of a residence, coming to rest in someone's living room.

Alfredo Cabrera, 31, of Lawrenceville told police he was trying to move the utility truck and its attached trailer from one spot to another on Downing Street to park it.

Instead, he failed to negotiate a 90 degree bend in the road, mowed over a mailbox, slammed into a 2002 Ford Ranger parked in a driveway and drove the truck into a duplex, police said.

Judy Copeland, 60, was in her back bedroom lying down when she heard the commotion.

"I heard what sounded like an explosion, but I had no idea what happened," Copeland said. "I just glanced in the living room and all I could see was truck."

Copeland, who suffers from a seizure disorder, had to be carried out by firefighters because she had a seizure that morning and was unable to walk outside.

She planned to stay with her sister for the night and was considering checking into a hotel while repairs were being done on the duplex. A gaping hole in the brick dwelling with rust-red shutters was being patched up with slabs of plywood Tuesday afternoon.

"The living room is totaled, everything in it is," Copeland said. "Thank God I was in the back part of the house."

Jimmy Hannah, 55, said he was unsure how much damage was done to his Ford Ranger when Cabrera drove into it. The tailgate was smashed in and there was damage to the rear bumper. Hannah said he was visiting his son, Matt, who lives with his girlfriend in the other half of the duplex, when the accident occurred.

"I thought it was an airplane at first, and as soon as I came outside I realized it wasn't," Matt Hannah said.

Police arrested Cabrera on a charge of no license and failure to maintain lane.