VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A fiery crash in Virginia Beach on Wednesday afternoon ended with one person dead and a couple without a home.
Police said a man drove into an Aden Park townhouse off North Witchduck Road and Virginia Beach Boulevard.
Children coming home from school and people returning from work saw a massive police and fire response. Hours after, crews determined the home a total loss, boarded it up and towed the car involved away.
"I'm kind of almost at a loss for words," said Laquaine Coleman.
Coleman told 13News Now she and her husband, Grayson Lassiter, were out for lunch Wednesday afternoon when suddenly, they got a call about an incident at their townhome.
"This has been the beginning of the worst year ever," Coleman said.
"Unbelievable. I didn't know the vehicle had hit it until I walked around the tape and came back. I thought it was just a regular fire," said neighbor Theodore Griffin.
Other neighbors told 13News Now off-camera they saw the car fully inside the home at one point.
A Virginia Beach police spokesperson said a man died after crashing into the house. Coleman and Lassiter said they do not know who the man is.
Investigators are trying to piece together why it happened. It all led to a fire; flames spread and ruined the inside.
"It's a miracle that my dog survived," Coleman said.
But with their home unlivable, she and her husband will need to start from scratch. The couple said they're not really sure what to do next, but they're determined to persevere.
"They did give me a watch of my son's that was in the house. That's all they gave me," Coleman said tearfully. "And I'm not crying for attention, because I don't need attention. I'm crying because my son is in that house."
Coleman explained her son's cremation urn was inside, and she doesn't know what happened to it. Devastated by the situation, she explained why her sadness is even greater.
"It breaks my heart to hear someone got killed," she said.
She said neighbors told her the man driving the car had been shot, right before the crash. However, police have not yet released details about the driver, only that he has died.