Couple recalls moment driver crashes car through home in West Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A search is underway for the driver of a Tesla that struck a police cruiser, another vehicle and an apartment building early Monday morning in West Philadelphia, authorities said.

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.

Theshuffling the couple heard was the Tesla's driver, who ran from the scene after the crash. Investigators said the Tesla had first hit a police cruiser on the 4800 block of Spruce Street. The officer was not hurt.

After that collision, police said, the Tesla driver fled north on 50th Street and crashed into a white Chevrolet Impala. The driver of the Impala was taken to the hospital.

"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 poll," 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.

Delorme and Seth said they came outside to find the injured Impala driver, who they said tried to question the Tesla driver before that person ran north on 50th Street.

Police continue to search for the Tesla driver. They say the vehicle was not stolen.