Alleged drunk driver loses control, rams truck into Katy home with family of 7, HCSO says

KATY, Texas (KTRK) -- A truck that neighbors believe sped through their Katy neighborhood crashed into a home while a family was inside.

"They think it's a freeway, and they race up and down this street all hours," Kevin Kesterson said, who lives a few houses down from the incident. "They do it in the morning. They do it in the evening."

People who live along Highland Knolls in Katy have been asking officials to do something that will get drivers to obey the speed limit before something dangerous happens.

"How would you feel if we ran through your neighborhood like this?" Kesterson asked. "Would you like it if we raced through your neighborhood like this?"

Tuesday night, their fears came true.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office said the driver, who appeared to be under the influence, hit two parked cars, a mailbox, and a tree, before hitting the house.

"It was just a matter of time," Kesterton said.

A couple and their five children were home at the time.

Two of the children, 8 and 11 years old, were watching television on the sofa in the living room.

"There's a large, beautiful marble fireplace that was sitting there, and upon impact, it launched that towards the sofa," Kevin Johnson, the homeowner, said. "It stopped just as it hit the sofa, so no one was seriously hurt."

The two children had minor injuries and were taken to the hospital.

"Most of it was just the shock of what had happened," Johnson said. "They were kind of traumatized by it, but they are doing OK."

The driver also went to the hospital, where the district attorney requested the suspect have blood drawn to test for alcohol.

While Highland Knolls is a busy road, people living here say drivers should respect that it's still a neighborhood.

"Just because it's four lanes divided doesn't mean it's a highway," Kesterson said. "They need to treat it as a neighborhood and such because that's exactly what it is, and there's a lot of families in this neighborhood with a lot of young kids."