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Family Terrified of New Year's Eve After 3 Suspected Drunken Drivers Crash Into Home

The first time a suspected drunken driver crashes into a home, it can be called a freak accident.

The second time it happens, it can probably be called really bad luck.

But what do you call it when it happens for the third time in months?

A Thousand Oaks family was nervous the Friday before New Year's Eve after suspected drunken drivers plowed into their home three times since the summer.

Members of the Dumais family say "every loud noise" has them on edge.

David Dumais said the Oct. 13 crash was bad enough.

"The vehicle left the road, grabbed both of the boulders, lifted them up and launched them through the back wall," he said.

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That October crash was the second in four months that an accused drunken driver had slammed into the brick wall behind their house. On the other side of the brick wall is a part of the family's yard that Duamis said his family could easily have been using at the time of the crash.

The first crash happened in July when a woman totaled her Honda by hitting the wall.

No one was injured or killed in the crashes, but Dumais -- a deputy fire chief -- was starting to get a bit "jittery."

When they thought the worst was over, as he and his wife wrapped Christmas gifts on Dec. 16, another loud crashing sound.

It happened -- again.

A Subaru, clocked by one witness traveling 55 mph, launched itself over the same curb, slammed into the plywood Dumais had installed after the last accident and landed in the pool.

Pieces of it were still sitting at the bottom Friday.

He drained it because the car left oil, gas and other fluids leaking into the water.

"The law enforcement officer asked if she knew where she was. She thought she was in Reseda," Dumais said.

The Dumais's wall sits at a sharp curve off Avenida de los Arboles and the speed limit is 15 mph.

Dumais has been trying to get the city to install solid, deeply anchored bollards, vertical posts designed to avoid ramming, to keep the next car from reaching his yard.

At this point, he's just hoping another drunken driver doesn't make it all the way to his yard during New Year's Eve.

"They're lucky they're alive. And we're lucky," he said.

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