ARLINGTON, MASS. (WHDH) - A man is expected to be arraigned on criminal charges Wednesday after police say his car rolled down a hill in Arlington while he was unconscious in the passenger seat and narrowly missed a house with a family of four inside before he jumped out, brandished a knife, and ran into the bushes of a nearby property.
Odolfo Garces, 53, of Fresno, California, is slated to be arraigned in Cambridge District Court on charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of a crash after causing property damage, and assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with the crash on Lublin Street on Tuesday afternoon.
One of the homeowners recalled the moment she saw the vehicle coming toward her house before coming to a rest against a tree in her front yard.
“I’m in the house with my kids and I see the car rolling down, the door open and nobody driving it and a big bang,” she said. “I was terrified because my husband was working in the basement and I thought he was going to be injured.”
Witnesses said Garces was unconscious before coming to and pulling out a three-inch folding knife when they approached his car, according to Arlington police.
“There was a knife and that’s why we were like, ‘OK, this person is not in the right state of mind,'” the other owner of the house said.
Officers responding to the scene searched the area for Garces and found him about 50 yards from the home in the bushes of another property, police said. He was taken into custody without incident or injury.
An investigation found that Garces was previously seen operating the vehicle and that he was the only occupant.
The two adults and two children inside the house at the time of the crash were uninjured and the home did not sustain any damage.
“Given the circumstances, I think we’re pretty lucky,” one of the homeowners said.
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