An Austintown man with a history of DUI arrests is in trouble again following an incident Tuesday night.
Daniel McCarthy appeared in court Wednesday morning after township police said he clipped a utility pole with his pick-up, then led officers on a chase before crashing into a house on Elmwood Avenue.
That home belonged to Judy Bean's neighbor.
"It sounded like an explosion when it hit," Bean said.
Police say the chase started when McCarthy ran into the back of an off-duty police officer's car and then took off, clipping a utility pole.
Police called off the chase after they observed McCarthy allegedly driving without regard to other motorists or the safety of himself. Although officers claimed they could smell alcohol on McCarthy's breath, he reportedly refused to take a breath test at the scene.
After the chase was canceled, McCarthy still crashed his vehicle into the home.
The homeowner, who did not want to be identified, said he was sitting on his couch when he heard sirens. When he looked out the window, he said, he saw a car flying toward the house, so he got up and ran to safety.
The car finally stopped once it knocked out part of the wall between the living room and the kitchen.
Bean said it's not the first time a car has run through the nearby intersection.
"We've had an awful lot of problems in this area over the past eight, 10, 12 years," Bean said. "A couple times people came in our yard. Come in their yard. Also hit a tree at one time."
She's asking township administrators to put up a guardrail to protect the homes in front of the intersection.
"Something definitely needs to be done before someone ends up getting killed," Bean said.
McCarthy is charged with felony fleeing, alluding and felony drug possession. He's also facing his third OVI offense.
"So at this point in his life, he now has become public enemy No. 1 for the operation of any motor vehicle at any time now or in the near future," said Ken Cardinal, of the Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office.
McCarthy's bond was set at $100,000.
