'I'm alive!' 10-year-old narrowly escapes injury after car plows through The Woodlands home

Montgomery County Sheriff's Office investigates a two vehicle crash that sent one vehicle crashing into the recreation room of a home Monday, June 5, 2017, on Timberwild Street in The Woodlands. Montgomery County Sheriff's Office investigates a two vehicle crash that sent one vehicle crashing into the recreation room of a home Monday, June 5, 2017, on Timberwild Street in The Woodlands. Photo: Michael Minasi, Staff Photographer Photo: Michael Minasi, Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close 'I'm alive!' 10-year-old narrowly escapes injury after car plows through The Woodlands home 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

THE WOODLANDS – Owen Eubanks, a 10-year-old Woodlands resident who just started his summer vacation, has a lot to be thankful for these days – A new pair of sunglasses and plenty of presents he just opened after celebrating his birthday days ago, just to name a few.

But perhaps most important, he should be thankful he wasn't crushed by a 2,500-pound vehicle that careened off a nearby street into his grandmother's house Monday. Owen was sitting on a couch up against the southernmost wall of the home in the 11600 block of Timberwild Street around 10:15 a.m. when a silver Honda Civic plowed through the wall, narrowly missing him.

Owen, as well as the driver of the Civic, were not injured.

"I just couldn't hear anything for a little bit and I went completely numb," Owen said, still a bit shaken from the crash. "I jumped onto the arm of the couch. I saw it coming through the window."

Owen's grandmother, Evelyn Smith, came rushing into the room to see what happened.

"When I heard the crash, I thought the upstairs had collapsed by the sound of it," Smith said. "Then I saw the car. I screamed "Owen!" He's over there in the corner and raises his hand: "I'm alive!" That's all I needed to hear. 'I'm alive.'"

The Crash

The driver of the Civic, Dianne Skipworth, was turning into Smith's driveway to partake in a newly created crochet club at Smith's home. As she slowed down to make the turn, a pickup truck slammed into the back of her car. She already had her wheels turned, so the force of the crash thrusted her into the home, she claims.

"It just pushed me, and I was already turned," Skipworth said. "Then it was just like 'ah!' and it was over. There was nothing I could do. I was helpless."

George King, who was driving the Ford pickup that hit the back of Skipworth's car, said he saw Skipworth stopped in the middle of the street, so he hit his brakes. But he claims his wheels locked up on the wet, semi-pea-gravel roadway, causing him to skid into the back of Skipworth's Civic, which sent it careening into the home.

King rushed into the home to check on Skipworth.

"I was so afraid when she was slumped over the wheel – I didn't know what happened," King said. "I got her out of the car."

Firefighters with The Woodlands Fire Department and medics with the Montgomery County Hospital District arrived at the home to check on those involved. Luckily, deputies pointed out, no one was injured in the crash.

Wreck Room

After ensuring her son, Owen, was OK, Erin Eubanks reflected on the crash. She was not at the home when it happened, but she got there as fast as she could.

"It was really intense," Eubanks said. "This isn't something you see happen around here. (Maybe) if somebody was coming 45 mph, but it's not something you see happen on slow residential roads."

The room question was originally a garage when Smith bought the house nearly four decades ago, but she renovated it into a quasi-den with a television and couches.

"We called it the rec room," Smith said. "Now it's the wrecked room."

While firefighters covered the gaping hole with a bright blue tarp, the repairs are far from over. For Smith, repairing her home has become somewhat routine.

Her home was flooded twice in recent years: first during Hurricane Ike in 2008, and then again during the Memorial Day Floods in 2016. Just two weeks ago, she received the final insurance payment for the most recent repairs.

"Now we're going to start all over again," Smith said smiling. "I don't think I want to. You guys want to buy a house?"