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Dallas / Fort Worth Local News

Family Homeless, Broke After Car Crashes Into Home

MANSFIELD (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―

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They say it was like a scene from a movie. A car came crashing through the wall of their home, and just barely missed their teenage son.

Still, the Mansfield family says they haven't been able to get the driver's insurance company to cover any of their expenses so far.

"I very much could have been killed. I have a purpose and that purpose has not been fulfilled," says Kevin Cook.

The 15-year-old was standing in the kitchen when a Mazda M3 came careening through his family's rental home in the 300 block of Rock Meadow Trail in Mansfield.

"I was kind of screaming to myself, 'wake up,'" he says. "When I got up, the car was actually on my back - touching my back... the front wheel."

Amazingly, Cook and the 19-year-old driver walked away without any serious injuries, but the financial problems Cook's family would face had just begun.

Cook's mother says the driver's insurance company, State Farm Insurance, hasn't paid for any of the family's expenses at this point. "None. Absolutely nothing. Not one thin dime," says LaShonda Kent.

Attorney Greg Russell is representing the family for free. "They just said, 'We're still investigating. We're still investigating.' Well, how much investigation is needed? This has been since June 3. It's very obvious what happened here," says Russell.

Russell claims he has submitted receipts to State Farm for more than $1,700 in hotel bills. Since a big gaping hole remains in the home, he says the family's furniture is getting ruined.

The family has since found another home to rent, but they say they don't have the $3,000 dollars it takes to get movers.

"We want to get back to normal. We want to be able to move into the house they told us to find, instead of staying in a room they haven't helped pay for either," says Kent.

State Farm spokesperson Kevin Davis issued a written statement saying: "Our policy at State Farm is always to pay what we owe. We do not discuss the details of a claim, but I can say that it is being handled according to normal claim handling procedures. Statements claiming any refusal by State Farm to meet our obligations are totally unfounded and without merit."