(Update 10:50 a.m.) – Two people living in a house near 11th and Garfield will have to find another place to live after a car rammed into their home Thursday morning.

“The vehicle was coming northbound on 11th street and for unknown reasons swerved to the right, went off the road and struck the house,” said Scott Gary, Traffic Officer for the St. Joseph Police Department. “In the process of hitting the house it also hit the gas main before the house.”

The residents inside were not injured. The crash knocked the home off of its foundation. The incident took place shortly after 10 a.m. in the 2300 block of 11th. The gas leak prompted police to close a two block stretch of 11th.  The road was reopened around 11:30 a.m.

A city building inspector posted a condemnation notice on the house, which authorities said sustained serious structural damage.

Gary said police are searching for the driver who fled the scene.  The driver’s injuries are currently unknown.

 

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(10:30 a.m.) – The St. Joseph Police Department is urging people to avoid the area of S 11th St. between Garfield Ave. and Hickory due to a gas leak.

Authorities sent out the alert shortly before 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Police said the gas leak was caused by a traffic crash.

We will update this post as more information becomes available.