It happened around 11 Wednesday morning at the intersection of Ash and Amber in a neighborhood in Tulare.
The garage was boarded. Mostly everything was charred after the stolen
vehicle caught fire.
Megan Woods is a close family friend and is thankful nobody was home at the time. She said the homeowner was called into work early and ordinarily would have been sleeping.
"He works hard, so when he sleeps, he sleeps hard and it's just it's a godsend he was not home," said Megan Woods.
CHP said earlier Wednesday they spotted the 21-year-old man from Tulare driving recklessly. He pulled into burger joint called Wimpy's and a woman from the passenger side stepped down from the vehicle. When CHP tried to approach the car, the man sped off.
Woods says she even recognized the car earlier when it came barreling by her.
"I saw this and realized it was from the same car chase I saw earlier today," said Woods.
The suspect was chased by CHP into a neighborhood at the intersection of Ash and Amber where he lost control. The car slammed into the garage of Woods' friend's home and caught fire. CHP tells us there's significant damage.
"The flames were pretty much confined to the garage, but there is going to be smoke damage from the inside of the house. You can see from the big picture window that's at the front that there is smoke dripping down from the inside of the house," said Sergeant Rodney Kennedy with California Highway Patrol.
The car also took out a gas main. Officers cleared the area and the gas to that main was cut off a short time after. A neighbor says it could have been her home.
"Devastating. I don't know what to say about it, I just feel sorry for them," said neighbor, Luetta Larkin.
CHP says the driver will be charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and failing
to yeild a red light to siren.
Woods is thankful nobody was hurt, but says it's not right.
"Somebody wanted to joyride in a car and my friend's house burned down because of it," said Woods.
The homeowners' dog was inside the home at the time, but was able to make it to safety.