Distracted drunken driver crashes into Lewiston home

Posted: 9:44 am PST March 2, 2010Updated: 6:43 pm PST March 2, 2010

A drunken driver engaged in sexual activity with a woman in his truck plowed into a Lewiston couple's home Sunday morning, crashing through their kitchen where they had been sitting just moments before the crash.

Just seconds before their walls came crashing down Teresa and Bill Weatherby had been sitting in their kitchen. They walked to their living room and then came the crash.

“All of a sudden WHAM it sounded like a bomb went off," Teresa Weatherby said.

Reflecting on how she and Bill had been in the kitchen only moments before the crash Teresa said that the “timing was perfect. Obviously we had angels that night.”

Lewiston Police say the driver of the truck, 30-year-old Johnathan Schlee, lost control of his 2003 Dodge pickup truck and drove through the Weatherlys' kitchen. Slideshow: See aftermath of the crash into the Weatherby home

"The vehicle essentially left the roadway, no skid marks, no evasive abrupt turning actions and drove right through the house," Captain Roger Lanier with the Lewiston Police Department said.

The force of the impact was so great Teresa and Bill's oven was pushed into their neighbor's front yard.

“Turned around and our kitchen was gone, absolutely no walls, the light was still on,” Teresa said.

Bill and Teresa got out of the house and called 911.

“He was very drunk and his girlfriend, the woman that was with him, was very drunk,” Teresa said about Schlee and the unidentified passenger in his truck.

A police report shows Schlee's blood alcohol level was double the legal limit. He told officers that he lost his concentration while having sexual relations with the woman in his truck while he was driving.

"His own words he was being distracted by his female passenger. In what way we didn't ask," Captain Lanier said.

Left to pick up the pieces, Teresa and Bill say insurance should cover most of the damage but fixing their house could take six months.

“There's been moments where I've been upset and angry because of some of the keepsakes but then you realize its just stuff," Teresa said.

As for Johnathan Schlee, the Weatherbys hope their losses will remind drivers – including Schlee – not to drink and drive.

“If he learned from this its all worth it, he won't end up killing someone," she said.

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