A driver was arrested after crashing into a Gwinnett County apartment building and severing a gas line, causing a fire that took hours to extinguish and displaced about 20 people from their homes.
None of the apartment building’s occupants were injured, officials said.
The wreck happened just before 11 p.m. Monday at the Somerset at the Crossing apartments on Summerwalk Parkway in Tucker, according to Gwinnett fire Capt. Tommy Rutledge.
When the car crashed into the side of the building, it damaged the natural gas meters on the outside wall. The impact ignited a fire that completely engulfed the two apartment units at that end of the building, Rutledge said.
Gwinnett fire crews arrived to find a Lexus GX470 SUV lodged into the side of the building.
“First-arriving companies were challenged by an intense fire and an active gas leak from the damaged meters,” Rutledge said. “Firefighters confirmed that the building was evacuated and worked aggressively to stop the spread of the flames.”
Credit: Red Cross
Credit: Red Cross
Crews were not able to put out the fire from the gas leak right away and had to wait on an emergency crew from Atlanta Gas Light to respond to the scene, Rutledge said. The fire was brought under control just after 12:30 a.m. Tuesday and the leak was fixed about two hours later, Rutledge said.
All eight units in the apartment building were destroyed, according to Red Cross spokeswoman Sherry Nicholson. About 20 residents quickly left the scene, Nicholson said. Red Cross caseworkers are still working to contact all of the residents to offer temporary assistance.
The driver of the Lexus was arrested at the scene by Gwinnett police, Rutledge said. The Gwinnett County Police Department has not provided information about the driver’s condition or charges.
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