Driver crashes into Shoreline family’s yard

SHORELINE

Wet boots on Greg and Kathleen Font’s front doorstep Jan. 28 were indicative of a snow day for their two children. But snow soaked black sneakers left perched on the edge of a flower bed belong to a man who crashed his SUV into the Font’s yard.

The man’s blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit when he plowed through the Font’s fence Jan. 23, according to an accident report by Shoreline police. His shoes fell off when police pulled him from his vehicle, Greg said. The driver was then taken to King County Jail.

“I guess if he walked out (of prison) he walked out without his shoes,” Greg said.

The family of four awoke suddenly at 2 a.m. on Jan. 23 when the 29-year-old man drove his SUV into a gas meter, causing a gas leak. According to police, the driver was eluding police and traveling along the residential street at 60 mph when he swerved to maneuver a median at the intersection of Wallingford Avenue North and North 192nd Street.

The crash sounded like an explosion, Kathleen recalled. Before she understood what was happening she said, an officer was on the doorstep telling the family they needed to evacuate their home. At 5 a.m. the gas leak was sealed and the Font family was allowed to safely reentered their home.

“The kids were just terrified to come back in the house,” Kathleen said. “The smell of gas filled the house. We had no heat and we were freezing.”

Although inconvenienced by the lack of heat on a frigid morning, the Fonts said they felt lucky.

“Two days after it happened, I just thought that was really scary and really loud,” Kathleen said. “It kind of hit me. We’re so lucky it wasn’t in the day where the kids play.”

Greg said his craftsman fence will be replaced and is hopeful his homeowner’s insurance will cover much of the estimated $5,000 repair cost.

“The guy who put in (the fence) is a very good craftsman,” he said. “We want him to come put it back to the original quality it was.”