Classic car badly damaged as car plows into Saugus house

SAUGUS – For Saugus resident Vincent Memont, nature called at just the right time Thursday afternoon.While sitting reading a magazine at the corner bar in his garage on Highland Avenue, Memont said he got up to go to the bathroom when, about five minutes later, the entire house shook like an earthquake.A Ford Mustang came crashing through the garage door and smashed into his pristine 1940 Plymouth business coupe.?I don?t know how he managed to do it, but he came right through that door,” said Memont. “I didn?t see it happen, but I can only guess what he did. Obviously he was going a bit fast, lost control and came right through that garage door about five feet.”The rear and front fenders and a front headlight were damaged as the impact pushed the shiny black Plymouth all the way to the other end of the garage.Meanwhile, the crash destroyed the custom wooden garage door as heating ducts and boxes of pictures and Christmas decorations were damaged as well.?It sounded like an earthquake, like a thunderclap,” said Memont. “The whole house shook. I was a little bit in shock.”Memont?s wife, Donna Memont, said she thought it was an explosion and rushed to the garage to check on her husband, but the Plymouth had pinned the door shut.?I couldn?t open the door,” she said. “The last time I saw him he was in the garage so I was panicked.”Vincent Memont has owned the Plymouth for 15 years and said he regularly drives it when the weather is nice. He estimated the damage could be anywhere between $10,000 and $20,000 to fix but, thankfully, he said, the car is insured.?That will be one of the projects for this weekend, trying to figure out how much is damaged and what,” he said. “I have to look underneath to see if I have any frame damage. I wouldn?t be surprised.”Vincent Memont said the driver of the Mustang, a young Marine home on leave, was apologetic after the crash, saying he was a “basket case” over it. No charges are expected to be filed.But Donna Memont said things could have been a lot worse, given the location of a granite pillar outside the house.?He said to me, ?I tried to head for the granite pillar,? I said, ?I?m glad you didn?t ? you wouldn?t have got out of that car,?” she said. “Damage is damage. Everything can be replaced.”Matt Tempesta may be reached at [email protected].