Roughly a dozen homes in St. Thomas had to be evacuated Thursday morning after a vehicle crashed into a house in the north-end, severing a gas line.
The driver suffered an apparent medical episode around 9 a.m., which led his minivan to crash through a fence and into a house on Pine Valley Drive near Ron McNeil Line.
Emergency crews quickly arrived on scene, with firefighters freeing the man from the vehicle. He was taken to hospital with unknown injuries.
"One of the pipes on the gas meter burst and it burst in the house as a result of the crash. So we ended up having to evacuate the block," said Bill Todd, chief fire prevention officer with the St. Thomas Fire Department.
The area was cordoned off and Enbridge Gas was called in to repair the damaged line. Those repairs aren't expected to be completed until Thursday night. Everyone except the family that lives in the house that was struck has been allowed to return to their homes.
A damage estimate has yet to be determined, however, the home suffered structural damage, Todd said.
