Police: 19-Year-Old Drunk Driver Crashed Into Elderly Woman's House

MANCHESTER, NH (CBS) - It was a jolt just after midnight for 81-year-old Margaret Gunzelman. A car smashed into her home, the engine eventually bursting into flames. "First a tire blew that was loud and the whole thing went up," said Gunzelman.

Her yard is now littered with car parts, the siding is melted, there's damage to the foundation, broken front steps and the broken fence the driver crashed through. Gunzelman was just on the other side of the wall watching television when it happened.

The feisty homeowner grabbed her two dogs and made it out, fortunate the flames didn't reach inside. "I was shook up but you have to handle it, obviously you can't fall apart," she said.

Police say Ryan LeBlanc, a 19-year- old underage drunk driver was behind the wheel and managed to get out with minor injuries. He's now been charged with aggravated operating under the influence of alcohol, and neighbors say they made sure he stayed at the scene. "I could tell he was going into shock," said neighbor Barbara Viorritto. "He was really upset with himself and he wanted to leave, he actually wanted to leave."

Neighbors say the car was speeding down the street and was unable to negotiate a sharp turn before slamming in the house. "It's a hard lesson for him to learn but it could have been much worse, he could have done damage to me and my pets," Gunzelman said.

She lives at the bottom of a hill on busy Boynton Street and has had her fence and her mailbox taken out by cars before. But looking at damage to her house is another thing. "I wanted to replace those steps, now part of it's done," Gunzelman said.

LeBlanc was released on $1,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned May 11.