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Memphis, Tenn. - A child's joyride ended in a fiery crash at a neighbor's home.

This happened Saturday morning near Vollintine and Maple.

84-year-old Helen May was inside her house when the car crashed through and burst into flames.

"A bang! A big bang like cabinets and stuff was falling," said May.

"The wall was caved and I could literally see the smoke or the fumes that come out the airbag," said May's daughter, Rosalind Smith.

Smith shouted out to her elderly mother they needed to get out the house.

"We couldn`t come out the front. So I`m saying 'I can`t find my keys,'" recalled Smith.

Thankfully the mother and daughter escaped. The house never caught fire. A neighbor ran down the street to find the person he saw bail from the smashed car.

"Lo and behold when he came back, it was an 11-year-old child. My best friend's grandson was driving the car," said Smith.

The fiery crash into their newly remodeled home was caused by an 11-year-old child on a joyride. Smith says in all in the chaos, she hugged the boy and told him to get inside her car.

"He said, 'Why I got to get in your car?' I said, 'You don`t have on a coat.' He said, 'Am I going to jail for a long time?' My maternal instincts kicked in. He`s just a child. He`s only 11 years old," said Smith.

Every day for 46 years, May has sat on her front porch feet away from the now gaping hole.

"If I'm not sitting, I'm standing in the door," said May.

But Saturday of all days, the great-grandmother was busy in the back of her house, out of harm`s way. For that, she`s thankful.

"I got God on my side and he takes care of me. I pray. Whatever happens that I can`t do nothing about, he'll do it. This is one of those things I can do nothing about," said May.

The child was taken to the hospital. Family members say he's going to be fine.

The 11-year-old child was issued a citation for no driver's license, financial responsibility, failure to maintain proper control and striking a fixed object.