Car crashes into local sorority house
On Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, at around 11 a.m., a car crashed into the Royal Lady Knight’s (RLK) house—the home of a local sorority at SUNY Geneseo. The residents of the house were understandably startled when their house abruptly shook and the sound of a crash echoed through the rooms of the house and the surrounding area. Katherine Pallavicini—one of the residents of the RLK house—stated, “It felt like an earthquake, I somehow knew there had to be a car somewhere in the house.” Luckily, there were no injuries sustained by the residents of the home, and no known injuries sustained by the driver of the vehicle.
The driver was headed to the four-way stop at the intersection of Court Street, Main Street, North Street, and Avon Geneseo Road when they hit the stop sign on the corner of Main and Court Street, spinning the vehicle into the front of the RLK house. The crash left considerable damage to RLK’s porch, leaving the front entrance unable to be used. Additional damage was done to interior walls surrounding the crash site—leaving one of the resident’s bedroom walls cracked—as well as to a resident's vehicle which was parked in the driveway. The driver’s vehicle was totaled after the incident.
Although no physical injuries were sustained by residents, they were left very shaken by the incident. The impact was certainly enough to greatly harm anyone who might have been in the vicinity, thus the entire situation has been difficult to digest for those living in the house. Pallavicini explains the surges of emotions that occurred during the incident, “As one of the older girls in the house, I had a younger RLK run to my room and as I eased her nerves, I walked her into the living room, and we saw no car. I couldn't open the door completely because of debris, but wanted to make sure the driver was okay. A car from the police station pulled up and instantly checked on her. We also saw movement so some of those anxious nerves of fatal injuries were disappearing.” Luckily, first responders and law enforcement were quick to the scene.
While the sobriety status of the driver cannot be definitively confirmed, witnesses of the scene have come forward to disclose that inhalant drugs, also known as “whippets,” were suspected to be involved. Pallavicini stated, “Two officers opened the [car] door, and that's when I heard them say ‘What do you have here?’ as they pulled gas inhalants out of the car, then most of my feelings turned to anger…The driver chose to drive under the influence and thankfully no one was hurt, but seeing our property, more than just the home, get damaged because of the carelessness is upsetting.”
Fortunately, the incident resulted in no major injuries on either side, and upon inspection, the RLK house sustained no foundational issues, with repairs necessary for only the porch and front house area. There are currently no further updates as to pending legal action surrounding the incident.