GILROY
– It was a rude awakening for Nick and Kari Hilton.
Sound asleep at 3:15 a.m. Tuesday, Nick Hilton was awakened by
”a ruckus outside that sounded like someone was gonna crash around
the corner,” the 38-year-old heavy equipment operator said.
GILROY – It was a rude awakening for Nick and Kari Hilton.
Sound asleep at 3:15 a.m. Tuesday, Nick Hilton was awakened by ”a ruckus outside that sounded like someone was gonna crash around the corner,” the 38-year-old heavy equipment operator said.
He looked out the bedroom window of his Carmel Street house and saw a neighbor’s maroon Dodge van coming toward him at about 10 miles per hour. A trash can on the curbside was knocked over and became lodged under the van as it approached the couple’s house.
But the van didn’t stop and eventually backed into their bedroom, creating a gaping hole in the front of their single-story home. The impact broke the bedroom window and drastically rearranged the Hilton’s bedroom furniture.
“The nightstand flew across the room and pictures on the wall came down,” Nick Hilton said.
Wood paneling and insulation in the bottom half of the wall were taken out by the crash, while the upper concrete part of the wall was cracked.
“It shook the whole house,” said Kari Hilton, who works for the Gilroy Unified School District.
The couple’s bed, originally positioned against the wall that was hit, was pushed across the room into their dresser. Nick Hilton sustained minor injuries to his upper lip from a dislodged window screen. There were no other reported injuries.
The driver of the van, 21-year-old Daniel Patrick Fierro, left the van running in reverse and fled the scene on foot. The van was largely undamaged with only some dents, a broken tail-light and a flattened exhaust pipe. The Hilton’s Chevrolet Tahoe was parked on the driveway and received some minor damage.
Police responded to a call placed by Kari Hilton minutes after the accident and after questioning neighbors tracked Fierro to an acquaintance’s house on nearby Princevalle Street. He was arrested there about an hour later on suspicion of drunk driving and fleeing the scene of the accident. Both charges could be enhanced to felonies because someone was injured.
Fierro was staying at a house on Carmel opposite the Hiltons’ residence. Pre-school teacher Gilda Figueroa, 52, owner of both the house and the van, said Fierro is a friend’s son. Awakened from sleep that morning, she heard a door slam shut but did not think much of it, as her own son often comes home late at night. Figueroa said the van was not in use as she recently purchased a new car. Keys to the van were left in the kitchen.
“He’s never done anything like that before,” she said of Fierro’s actions. Fierro’s motive behind taking the van is unknown.
The Hiltons have set up a temporary bedroom in their garage as they arrange for damages to be assessed. The couple have two teen-age children, one of whom was not home at the time, while the other was in a separate room.
“It’s been a long day so far,” said Kari Hilton at lunch time.
