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Occupant Of Pot-Growing House Killed When Car Crashes Through Front

LOCKPORT TOWNSHIP, Ill. (CBS) – A 28-year-old Lockport Township man was killed Saturday when a neighbor's runaway car crashed into his home, where first-responders found marijuana growing.

The 63-year-old driver told police she was backing her 1995 Mercury Marquis out of the driveway shortly after 12 p.m. when the accelerator got stuck, causing the car to rocket through a house across the street at 431 Connor St. Occupant Zachary Isenberg was run over, Will County Sheriff's Department spokesman Ken Kaupas said.

Isenberg was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet but died of his injuries. The driver had minor injuries and was also transported. Her passenger, Michael Crawford, was not injured.

"The accelerator just went full-bore," Crawford, the driver's son, told CBS 2. "She wasn't even hitting the gas, we were just backing out. For whatever reason, the car malfunctioned and went full bore. I tried to get it out of gear. It wouldn't go."

"There was nothing we could do to stop it," he said. "It was stuck open, full-throttle. I've never seen anything like that before. It all happened in five seconds. It was pretty scary."

Inside the Connor Street home, first-responders found a small "grow house" in the bathroom with 13 marijuana plants. Police charged Isenberg's roommate, 27-year-old Thomas Micucci, with marijuana production and also slapped the convicted felon with a weapons charge after they found a handgun in his room, Kaupas said.

Authorities found a half ounce of cocaine and $2,000 in cash in Isenberg's room, he said.

Police say Micucci's father owned the house where the two longtime friends lived. They were playing video games and smoking marijuana Saturday when they heard a loud noise, Micucci told police. Isenberg went to the window to look through it when the car came crashing through the home's front, Kaupas said.

The car nearly went through the entire house. Sheriff's police say the driver -- identified as Patricia Dolton -- has not been cited or charged in connection with the accident.

An investigation continues.

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