Man flees on foot after car crash that heavily damaged New Kensington house

A car crashed into a New Kensington house Saturday morning with such force that it knocked out a corner of the concrete block building and landed in the middle of the kitchen.

The vehicle was traveling along the 1200 block of Equator Alley, which runs behind Leishman Avenue about a block from St. Joseph Church, shortly before 11:30 a.m. when the driver wrecked and then fled on foot, according to city police.

As of late Saturday afternoon police had not yet apprehended the suspect, who they described as a black man wearing dark clothing.

The man who rents the apartment in the small, two-story building was not at home at the time, said Ted Saganis, the building’s owner.

“Luckily nobody was home and down in the kitchen when it happened,” Saganis said. “The man’s young daughter sometimes visits here, so they were lucky that they weren’t here.”

Saganis said he learned about the crash from a tenant who rents another apartment nearby.

Saganis, who was at the house on Saturday to board up the gaping hole left by the crash, said the building appears to have sustained structural damage and is uninhabitable.

“It’s going to take a lot of work just to shore up the floor joists before we can start rebuilding,” he said while disconnecting the pipes of a crushed metal sink cabinet before tossing it in the yard. “That car had to be moving fast. It’s an absolute mess in here.”

Car parts and chunks of concrete block were mixed in with crumpled furniture and fixtures in the heavily damaged first-floor kitchen.

Saganis said he has another apartment were the occupant of the damaged building can stay until the repairs are completed.

He said the damage to the building should be covered by insurance.