Elderly woman crashes SUV through garage into another home

(CRYSTAL LAKE) A 70-year-old woman drove her SUV through the wall of her garage and crashed into another home Wednesday night in northwest suburban Crystal Lake.

The woman pulled into the single-car garage at her home in the 700 block of Coventry Lane in Crystal Lake, but instead of coming to a stop, accelerated her 2015 Subaru Outback through the garage’s back wall, according to a statement from Crystal Lake police.

The SUV went through her backyard and a wooden fence, struck a tree, rolled onto its side and came to rest against the back of another home, police said.

The woman was taken to Centegra Hospital in Woodstock with only minor injuries, police said.

The residents of the homes were not injured, but police said the SUV and both homes sustained “significant” damage, police said. An inspection of the homes determined both to be “safe and habitable.”

Police said neither drugs, alcohol, nor mechanical failure are suspected in the crash, and “all indications suggest operator error to be the cause.”

No charges are expected to be filed in the crash.