A woman’s living room in Norwood Park in ruins after a car crashed into her home; Neighbors said it was a wrong race

CHICAGO (CBS) – The facade of a home in Norwood Park was dilapidated and unstable Friday night, the night after a driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the home.

But it doesn’t end there.

CBS 2’s Sabrina Franza spoke to the host, Cheryl Kelly, who has lived in the house near Harlem and Talcott Avenue for 23 years.

In the early hours of Friday morning, Kelly’s old living room – where she used to play the piano by the window – fell into disrepair when the car crashed into her home.

“Brand new gutters,” Kelly said in frustration. “We just painted the room.”

Kelly guided us through the damage.

“Suddenly, there was a big bang – and the whole house shook,” she said.

It happened around 1 a.m. Friday.

“My son came out and said, ‘Mom, our house was destroyed,’ and the whole front of the house was sunk in front,” Kelly said.

Police say a 32-year-old man lost control of his BMW after another driver changed lanes and passed him. Neighbors say it was a race that went wrong.

“Totally smashed!” Kelly said.

The BMW sped into the living room. A radiator that’s slanted towards the now sloping floor with a set of retractable venetian blinds sits on it, right next to Kelly’s upright piano.

“Sometimes I play the piano late at night,” Kelly said. “Luckily it wasn’t me last night.”

Now the house is dilapidated – cracked. But the family is staying.

“We really need the speed camera here,” Kelly said. “I mean, it’s speed – motorbikes, cars race here all the time, like at 2 or 3 in the morning – especially in the summer.”

On the Kelly block, the speed limit is 30 mph.

The driver was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, and is expected to recover. The police gave him a testimony.

The other driver fled the scene quickly as Kelly’s home was nearly destroyed.

“Unbelievable,” Kelly said.

Hours after the collision, cracks continued to form in Kelly’s ceiling while she waited for the insurance company to drop by and access the structure. It was the house in which she raised her whole family.