Downers Grove couple says they’re lucky to be alive after pickup truck blasted through house

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. (CBS) — A Downers Grove couple talked to CBS 2 Monday after a pickup plowed right through their house last week.

As CBS 2’s Marissa Perlman reported, the couple said they are lucky to be alive after the incident.

On Monday, three days after the accident, the house on Briargate Drive was boarded up. Caution tape remained strung up, tire marks ripped through the grass from after the pickup truck was hauled away, and there were still huge piles of debris in front of the house.

And residents Scott Pillsbury and Niki Jones were shaken up as they came to terms with what happened.

The vehicle slammed right through the house at 66th Street and Briargate Drive in Downers Grove and went on to hit a tree near a backyard swimming pool and children’s playhouse.

The front and rear exterior load-bearing walls were blown right out into the backyard, along with the contents of the rooms inside. A seemingly endless trail of debris was left behind.

Police said the driver, who has not been identified, was having a medical emergency when he drove straight through the home. A woman was in the car with him.

They were both hospitalized, but are expected to recover.

Luckily, in the few seconds it took for the truck to tear through the living room, Jones and Pillsbury were in the basement. They said it was a miracle everyone survived.

“If it was an hour later, both of us would be sitting down at our dining room table that is in many pieces in the backyard,” Pillsbury said. “That’s all we have been thinking about for the past couple of days – how lucky we really are. It’s a miracle.”

After the crash, Pillsbury ran on our to help the driver and his passenger. But now their home, which they were renting, is not livable.

Family is now raising money to help Pillsbury and Jones find a place to stay. 

Meanwhile, police say their investigation is continuing. There was no word late Monday on the condition of the driver or passenger, or whether anyone will face charges.