The former host of the CBC evening news on P.E.I. is lucky he wasn't injured Monday night after a stolen car crashed into the home of his parents in Dartmouth, N.S.

Bruce Rainnie said he was in the basement of the Pinehill Drive house and on the phone with his wife around 10 p.m.

"I heard just an astoundingly loud bang and the shattering of glass," said Rainnie, who was not injured. "There was the headlight of a Buick staring me in the face through the blinds. A car had come right through the basement bathroom window."

This is the view Rainnie had when the vehicle crashed into the basement. (Bruce Rainnie)

A 17-year-old boy was arrested by police and has been charged with theft of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property, fleeing police, resisting arrest, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and property damage.

Halifax Regional Police said just minutes earlier they'd been alerted that a car had been stolen on nearby Chappell Street. Police said officers found the car and tried to remove the driver, but he drove off.

After crashing the car, the driver was arrested a few minutes later on another nearby street. Police said he was not injured.

Rainnie hosted CBC's Compass for 13 years before stepping down in April. (CBC)

Rainnie said the house belongs to his parents, who were away at their cottage. Rainnie hosted CBC News: Compass for 13 years and also covered seven Olympics for CBC Sports before stepping down in April to take a job as executive director of the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.

He's staying in the Dartmouth home until he moves into a new house in the area.

"Had anyone been in that bathroom close to the window, at the very least they would have been cut horribly," he said of the crash. "I hate to think of what else could have happened, it was a traumatic night."