Police: Man drives car into Newton County home

NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - An almost 80-year-old man is now behind bars after deputies said he struck a home with a truck and ran from the scene of the crime. 

Willie Gene Thrasher has a $13,000 bond for multiple charges including hit and run. He is still in the Newton County Jail.

The ordeal happened in the early evening on April 6.

Deputies said the vehicle smelled like alcohol and the victim reported the suspect appeared drunk when Willie Gene Thrasher clipped a mailbox, swerved then drove the truck into the side of a home on Harville Road.

Homeowner Adam Denton said he was standing on his porch and his children were in a bedroom when the ordeal happened.

"We were blessed- it was just the house," Denton said. He told FOX 5 News the vehicle could have struck him and his children feet away in a bedroom.

Denton said he went to check on Thrashed in case the ordeal was a medical emergency; once he realized Thrasher wanted to flee the scene, he took the keys from the suspect.

"I was extremely angry when he left the scene and didn't come back," he said.

Deputies said they looked for Thrashed at his nearby residence and could not locate him. He was arrested two days later.

A huge gaping hole remains below the house. Denton said his family has been staying at a hotel overnight, and the damage is estimated to be $20,000.