Aurora – The first thing Irene Espinoza realized Monday morning is that she was no longer in her bed and that there were nurses and doctors buzzing around.
Espinoza, 55, was in the emergency room at Aurora Medical Center South with a cut to the head and a fractured arm.
Inside her bedroom was a stolen Chevy Blazer that had smashed through the house as the driver tried to elude police. Detectives are still searching for the driver, who ran away.
“I believe there were angels watching over me,” said Espinoza from her hospital bed Monday. “They were on double duty last night.”
Espinoza, an accountant at Rose Medical Center, said it wasn’t the first time her house has been hit. About 20 years ago, a car smashed into a different section of her house, which is in the middle of a T-intersection at East 11th Avenue and South Vaughn Street. Neighbors say cars have crashed in the neighborhood about seven times over the years.
“If I hear a car going fast, I have been known to jump out of bed to preserve myself,” Espinoza said.
This time, however, she didn’t. Police say she’s lucky.
“It took out a corner of the house,” said Detective Bob Friel, police spokesman. “It’s like you basically have a big hole peering into the bedroom.”
It began about 11:45 p.m. Sunday when police pulled over the Blazer for a traffic violation at Sixth Avenue and Del Mar Circle. As officers approached, the sport utility vehicle sped off.
Police began following in a patrol car with lights and sirens activated, but shut down the pursuit when the SUV failed to pull over. Five blocks later, an officer found that the SUV had jumped the curb and crashed into Espinoza’s home.
Police say they have interviewed a 16-year-old “person of interest” in the case, but no arrests have been made.
Espinoza said that if she had a chance, she would tell the driver to be more careful, to realize that “he’s dealing with people’s lives, people who have loved ones.”
And she’d also like to thank the angels.
Staff writer Jeremy P. Meyer may be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.