PUYALLUP, Wash. — Christian Perez’s afternoon nap was interrupted by a Hyundai Elantra slamming into his apartment’s living room in Puyallup.
"I opened my eyes, there's a bunch of glass everywhere, and then I see a headlight. I'm like, 'OK, a car just came through my sliding glass door," said Perez.
Perez said he was pinned between the car and his couch, but was able to wriggle out to check on his 14-month-old son who was napping in the apartment’s bedroom, just feet from the living room.
"It's terrifying, I don't know what my life would be if he was gone,” said Perez.
The crash happened last Friday afternoon, June 14. Perez was trying to get some sleep in-between his double shifts at work. He is a refrigeration mechanic and worked a morning shift and was planning on working that night.
Pierce County investigators determined the driver was unable to stop because a rubber floor mat obstructed her brake pedal. The driver was not cited.
Perez suffered a gash to his knee and he has back pain. He and his wife started a fundraising page to generate money while Perez is unable to work
Perez’s wife, Nadia, was doing errands when she got a phone call from someone at the apartment complex about the incident.
“He’s like, ’You need to come home right now. A car flew into your living room,'” said Nadia Perez.
She said when she got to the apartment she found her bleeding husband, being treated by medics.
“He said, ‘I almost didn’t make it to Father’s Day,” said Perez.