Drunk Driver Plows Through Driveway; Almost Hits Moore Family

Brooke and Shawn Laguna spent New Year’s Eve with family. Later that night, they pulled into their driveway and helped their two young children out of their SUV. Suddenly, they heard an engine roar behind them, and saw a car wreck into one of their vehicles.

Police say 29-year-old Fabian Varela was behind the wheel, and has been arrested for DUI-Breathalyzer/Refusal.

“Took out the truck and moved about 6 feet,” said Shawn Laguna.

The parents held onto their kids, as the driver threw it in reverse and took off again. Laguna said the airbags went off in the suspects’ car, but that didn't stop him.

A neighbor said she did help slow the driver down, Varela pulled over to ask her a question.

“A lady or person asked him what happened, he asked if he hit a house. I'm sure he had no idea where he was,” said Laguna.

Moments after that, police tracked down Varela on N. Eastern Avenue, less than half a mile away.

Aside from a DUI, he's booked into Cleveland County Jail on complaints of leaving the scene of a property damage accident and not having a state ID.

Shawn Laguna said if his family had come home a moment sooner, this narrative could have been much worse.

“Kids could have been coming around the back. We could have been there doing something. His life would be different,” said Laguna.

“Once you are that drunk, you can't rely on yourself to say, ‘I am going to get a cab and everything will be alright,’” continued Laguna.

The family hopes this serves as a wake-up call to everyone who decides to drives after they’ve had too much to drink.