Vehicle goes airborne before crashing into 2 homes in St. Charles

A vehicle hit an embankment on the front lawn of a home and went airborne before crashing into two houses early Wednesday in west suburban St. Charles.

The crash happened at 1:33 a.m. in the 700 block of South 3rd Street, when a 2005 Lincoln traveling north on South 3rd Street at Bowman Street went off the road at a curve, according to a statement from St. Charles police.

The vehicle went into a front lawn, hit the embankment between two yards and went airborne, police said. The vehicle struck a guide wire for a utility pole, uprooted a small tree, struck a house 10 feet off the ground and then another house before landing upside down in the driveway.

A third house had a window damaged by flying debris, and the uprooted tree landed on the second story of the second house, police said.

The driver, 34-year-old Richard J. Rusin, was taken to Delnor Community Hospital in Geneva, but his condition was unknown Wednesday afternoon, police said. He lives in the 6N600 block of Greenlawn Avenue in St. Charles.

He was charged with DUI and improper lane usage and was released from custody, police said. He remains at the hospital.

The crash caused a brief power outage in the area, police said. The houses were declared habitable but sustained serious damage by the building inspector.