Elyria home demolished after being hit by car last year

The city of Elyria demolished a condemned house on West River Road North on Wednesday, more than a year after it was heavily damaged after a car crashed through it. On April 14, 2024, a car driven by a teenage driver who had just fled police crashed through the front porch of a neighboring home before lodging itself halfway into 330 West River Road N. The damage was extensive, and later inspections by the city determined that the building was structurally unsound. The homeowner, identified in city records as Robert Edgar, was present as the home was taken down by a city contractor on Wednesday, but declined to comment. He was not in the home when it was struck. Records show that Edgar did not have home insurance, and so no work was done to fix the structural damage that was done to the home. During an inspection in July 2024, city employees found 20 code violations at the home, some of which were due to the damage caused by the crash while others appeared to have existed prior, including portions of the home being filled with "debris" as well as a lack of water or gas. Inspectors found that the massive hole, which had been boarded up and reinforced with two-by-fours, compromised the entire structure, making it unfit for human habitation. The building was subsequently condemned on July 12, 2024. Under city law, if the issues leading to a condemnation are not remedied within 30 days, a demolition order is to be pursued. Elyria Safety Service Director Chris Pyanowski said that city officials had been contacting Edgar for the past six months, informing him that the condemned home faced imminent demolition if the issues outlined during multiple inspections were not corrected. No steps were taken to repair the home and eliminate other issues, and so the city moved forward with the demolition. "It is an unfortunate situation," Pyanowski said. "But the city is looking to remediate the condemned property. We have been in contact with him for months, letting him know that was going to be the end result." Edgar had owned the home on West River Road North since 1977, when he purchased it for the sum of $10. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.