A car flipped into a house near East 155th Street and Harvard Avenue in Cleveland last Thursday afternoon, injuring two people including a 7-year-old child, after police say a 45-year-old driver rear-ended another vehicle while suspected of being under the influence. Cleveland police released new details about the crash on Monday, four days after it happened.
According to FOX 8 Cleveland WJW, the crash unfolded around 3 p.m. last Thursday as the suspect vehicle traveled eastbound on Harvard Avenue. Investigators told the station the driver rear-ended one car, struck a second vehicle, then flipped and crashed into a nearby house. The impact also knocked down three utility poles, and a fourth vehicle, parked and unoccupied nearby, was damaged by flying debris, police said.
Investigators said the suspect vehicle was traveling at a suspected high rate of speed at the time of the crash. The 45-year-old driver was taken to a hospital before being arrested and now faces charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and driving under suspension, per the same report. A 36-year-old occupant and a 7-year-old occupant both reported minor injuries, according to the station's account.
Road Safety Concerns
Lee Road has also been the subject of road-safety concerns.
Harvard Avenue has seen other severe wrecks in recent memory. A July 2026 single-vehicle crash along Harvard Avenue in neighboring Newburgh Heights killed a 61-year-old driver. A separate deadly crash on Harvard Avenue in Cleveland killed two people, according to WKYC. Hoodline previously reported on a fatal Broadway Avenue crash.
City Dollars Chasing a Citywide Problem
Cleveland's traffic fatalities have climbed sharply in recent years, rising more than 70% over two years from 43 deaths in 2022 to 75 in 2024, according to a May 2025 Bike Cleveland report. A citywide review of 7,636 traffic crashes in Cleveland during 2024 found excessive speed was a factor in nearly 800 incidents, while suspected alcohol impairment contributed to 302 collisions and drugs to 91, according to a crash data guide published by Plevin & Gallucci.
A Lee Road project has also focused attention on road safety; the road's four active lanes can encourage higher speeds. Hoodline previously covered a car crashing into a Cleveland home.
Civil Claims
Anyone injured or whose property was damaged in the crash has a two-year window from the crash date to file a civil recovery lawsuit under Ohio Revised Code Section 2305.10, according to Plevin & Gallucci.
