Carolyn Stiles was sitting in her living room early yesterday morning when a car slammed into it, plowing down three poles that held up the porch, knocking through the wall and moving her Epsom home an inch and a half off its foundation.

She screamed and jumped out of her recliner, but it's not the first time this has happened. The house has been hit six times, said her husband, Bucky Stiles - three times during the 12 years he and Carolyn have lived on the corner of Route 4 and Center Hill Road.

"We're doing okay, but enough is enough," Bucky Stiles said, looking at the plywood and plastic-covered walls that he and his drywall company, Custom Creations, boarded up several hours after the accident.

The crash followed a three-mile car chase, which began in Northwood at Route 4 and Main Street about 5 a.m. yesterday. Northwood Officer Chris Johnson clocked 24-year-old Efrain Perez of Manchester going 96 mph westbound on Route 4, said Northwood Sergeant Glen Drolet. The speed limit is 45 mph.

Johnson, who was running radar, then attempted to stop Perez, Drolet said. But Perez wouldn't pull over and didn't slow down, so Johnson followed him.

Perez didn't run any stop signs or stoplights, Drolet said, "but he was on the other side of the road, forcing cars off the road." About three minutes later, he crossed over into the eastbound lane, grazed the front of a car in the Stileses' driveway, then smashed into their house.

After crashing through the wall of the living room, Perez got out of his car through the passenger side door, which was on the outside of the house, then started running across the Stileses' driveway toward the back of the house. Johnson ran after Perez, who fell down an embankment and broke his ankle. At that point, Johnson arrested Perez - officers from Epsom and Pittsfield also came to help, Drolet said - and the Stiles hurried outside to see the Manchester man face down, handcuffed, on the gravel behind their house.

The Northwood police charged Perez with aggravated DWI, disobeying a police officer and operating after suspension, along with "a slew of other motor vehicle violations," Drolet said. Officers smelled alcohol on Perez, Drolet said, but are waiting for tests to determine his blood-alcohol level. Perez was released yesterday on $25,000 bail and will be arraigned July 9.

Epsom Police Chief Wayne Preve said yesterday morning his department would also be charging Perez, but he didn't know yet what those charges would be.

While the Stiles were upbeat after the accident, working on their living room and taking calls from friends hoping to help, they were frustrated by the situation.

"I was sitting in my recliner, minding my own business, when all of a sudden I heard a bang and things were falling all around me," Carolyn Stiles said. The police told her if Perez hadn't first hit the front of her car, she "most likely wouldn't be here."

Stiles, who received a few "bumps and bruises" from the crash, said Perez shouldn't have been released on bail.

"I'm not impressed at all - he could have killed me. I might not have been able to watch this little man grow up," she said, holding her one-year-old grandson Blake Kitson.

Records show Perez's license has been suspended since 2002, Drolet said. He didn't know what exactly Perez had done in the past, but said he had outstanding court fines. The bail isn't unusual in a case like this, Drolet said, because "we know where's he living, we have an address on him, we didn't feel we'd have enough to hold him on cash."

For Bucky Stiles, the accident is just one more reason he thinks Route 4 needs to be safer.

Single page