A brick home near South Enota Drive in Gainesville was severely damaged Thursday morning after a car drove through an intersection and smashed into the carport, according to authorities.

Although one person was inside the home at 625 Robinhood Trail at the time — shortly before 8 a.m. — no one was injured in the incident, Gainesville Fire Department spokesman Keith Smith said.

“First reports were that the driver was unconscious,” Smith said. “But, he was OK. He refused treatment.”

Smith said that upon arrival, Fire Department personnel surveyed the home and “saw that it appeared to be somewhat unsafe. To err on the side of caution and safety, (the Fire Department) is shoring up that wall and the corner of the house to keep it from collapsing when the wrecker pulls the car out.”

Smith added that drugs and alcohol were not likely a factor. No passengers were in the vehicle — a white Nissan Sentra.

“It appears the vehicle came down the road, and I don’t know what happened, but for some reason the car came straight through the intersection, hit the curb, came down the side of the driveway and into the garage area,” Smith said.

Whitney Allison, a tenant of the house, wasn’t home at the time. Her cousin — who was home — called her when it happened.

“I had just pulled up at work, and (my cousin) called me. He was in shock,” Allison said. “He said, ‘You should come home right now and see this.’”

The residence was the childhood home of Shirley Turpin, who lives nearby and showed up after the incident occurred.

“I think we’re so blessed nobody got hurt,” Turpin said. “It could have been so bad.”
It was not clear as of press time whether the driver of the car would be charged.