Car slams into house on West Side

Staff Report

YOUNGSTOWN

Police say a man who was cited for driving a car into a West Side home early Sunday morning registered a blood-alcohol limit of almost three times the legal limit.

Terry Bucklew, 29, of Mahoning Court, was cited for driving under the influence and driving under the influence with a high blood-alcohol content along with several other traffic citations after reports said his car rammed into a house in the first block of Millet Avenue about 3 a.m. Sunday.

Police were called to the home by the homeowner and when they arrived the car was gone but a driver’s license belonging to Ashley Birchfield, 30, of Millet Avenue, was found in the driveway and the woman who owned the home also wrote the license plate down, reports said.

Reports said officers traced the car to Hampton Court, and when they talked to the owner, he told police he allowed Bucklew and Birchfield to use his car. The car had damage to its bumper and a headlight, reports said.

From there police traced Bucklew and Birchfield to Mahoning Court. Reports said Bucklew has a strong odor of alcohol on him and was so drunk he could not stand up and had trouble talking.

Reports said Birchfield admitted to police that Bucklew was driving and after he rammed into the house, she switched seats with him and drove away. She was issued a citation for fleeing the scene of an accident and given a court date in municipal court for Monday.