During the thunderstorm Sept. 4, a sport utility vehicle traveling west on Sauerkraut Lane attempted to make a left onto Sauterne Drive.

Instead, one neighbor said, the SUV “went full throttle,” airborne over the lawn and landscaping and crashed into the side of the house facing Sauerkraut Lane.

According to neighbors, the SUV hit a gas line inside the home at 6168 Sauterne Drive igniting a fire that consumed the structure.

Neighbors assisted getting the driver of the SUV out as well as retrieving the homeowner who was in another part of the house. The homeowner’s cat was also located and brought out of the fire by firefighters.

The driver of the SUV was taken to the hospital.

The smell of smoke was still present in the air the following morning as neighbors and cars slowed down to view the wreckage.

“It’s just horrible,” a neighbor said walking by the residence.

Tire tracks were visible on the lawn as a result of the vehicle being removed from the structure.

The fire apparently destroyed the entire structure and damage could be viewed from all angles of the house.

Workers from Lower Macungie Township were present in the morning assessing the damage.

The residence sits along a pathway heavily used by walkers and the question asked by most passersby was “How could this even happen?”

The posted speed limits for both Sauerkraut Lane and Sauterne Drive are 25 mph.