Three people were transported to Robinson Memorial Hospital after their car crashed into the front of a duplex at 702 Silver Meadows Blvd. in Kent yesterday.

Witnesses said the Ford Taurus ran a stop sign, jumped a curb lining Silver Meadows Boulevard, scuffed a tree along the road’s edge and then turned nearly 90 degrees into the duplex at about 3:30 p.m. The car had temporary tags.

The names of those involved in the accident have not been released, and their condition is unknown.

The car smashed a gas meter in front of the duplex, causing gas to leak. A hissing sound could be heard down the street, and people standing around the taped-off accident scene said they could smell gas.

A representative from Dominion East Ohio, who was on the scene but declined to give her name, said there was no danger posed by the leak, as only a few ounces of gas had escaped.

Neighbor Patty Stevenson, resident of Silver Meadows Boulevard., said she was looking out her front window when the accident occurred. She immediately went outside to help.

She said a male passenger exited the car first. The man then pulled two women out of the car when a neighbor realized gas was leaking.

“It’s like he was dazed, but he was aware enough that he knew he needed to get (the others) out of the car,” said Susie Stewart, another resident of Silver Meadows Boulevard.

Stewart, Stevenson and other neighbors assisted the three accident victims until the Kent fire and police departments could arrive, Stevenson said.

“All the neighbors came out, and we threw blankets on them and patched their legs,” she said.

The owner of the duplex, Fay Mohr, said she heard the car’s driver may have sustained the worst injuries.

Mohr said the duplex had damage to its foundation, drywall and exterior as a result of the accident. Additionally, a glass-fronted hutch inside the building was broken.

The duplex’s renters, Jim and Irene King, were not there when the accident happened, but Irene said their daughter was home.

The daughter would not comment or give her name.

Mohr said the Kings will continue to stay in the duplex despite its lack of heat and warm water.

Contact enterprise reporter Steve Bushong at [email protected].