Driver arrested after crashing into 2 vehicles, home in West Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Authorities have arrested the driver of a Tesla that they say struck a police cruiser, another vehicle and seriously damaged a home early Monday morning in West Philadelphia.

Police say a 35-year-old man was taken into custody following the crash that also left one other person injured.

The crash unfolded around 3:30 a.m. near 50th and Walnut streets. Police later towed the Tesla Model X from the scene, but extensive damage remained, including a shattered window at a ground-floor apartment that left the interior exposed.

Residents Scarlett Delorme and her partner, Seth, said the area where the Tesla smashed through the window had previously been their bedroom.

"I don't know, I don't know what to do. I've never seen anything like that before. It's just glass debris everywhere," Delorme said. "Thank God the window took most of it."

The couple said they woke up in a panic when they heard the crash.

"We just heard a loud crash, crazy crash. We were like, 'Oh my gosh, what happened? We jumped up, we could hear shuffling in the room. I was like, 'Oh my God, someone's in the room,'" Delorme said.

The shuffling the couple heard was the Tesla's driver, who ran from the scene after the crash.

Investigators said the Tesla was driving on the sidewalk on the 4900 block of Spruce Street when it struck the driver's side door of a police car that was positioned to try to block it. The officers inside the vehicle were not hurt.

After that collision, police said, the Tesla driver fled north on 50th Street and crashed into a white Chevrolet Impala. The impact then sent the Tesla crashing into the apartment building.

The driver of the Impala was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in stable condition.

"I open that door, this car was in the window and the wall there. It was smoking still. There was another car here wrapped around the pole," Delorme said.

Officials have not released information about the Tesla's speed, but the crash left significant damage. Bricks were smashed, windows shattered and the Tesla's front passenger wheel was completely detached from its axle.

"I didn't feel safe being on this road because how many times people crash," Delorme said.

The couple said that concern was why they had moved their bedroom to a different part of the apartment.

The suspect faces several charges, including leaving the scene of an accident, aggravated assault and related offenses.

The crash remains under investigation.