FROM STAFF REPORTS

A Statesville man faces multiple charges after crashing his vehicle into a home on East Front Street and then fleeing scene.

The Statesville Police Department announced the arrest of William Pennell, 31, in a news release on Monday. 

About 1:40 a.m. on Sunday, SPD officers were dispatched to a residential alarm at 614 E. Front Street.

While traveling to the scene, officers received information that Statesville Fire Department personnel were on the scene at that location with a working residential structure fire.

Upon speaking to witnesses, officers determined a passenger vehicle had run off the roadway and struck the residence, causing a gas line into the home to explode and set fire to the residence, according to the news release.

The driver failed to yield after the incident and fled the scene, police said.

Officers located a trail of fluids on the roadway and followed it to the 500 block of South Meeting Street, according to the news release.

A vehicle matching the description with heavy damage was located in the wood line at this location, police said.

Officers located Pennell, who admitted to driving the vehicle and striking the residence, according to the news release.

Pennell was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Iredell County Detention Center. He was charged with one count of Hit and Run, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, one count of Reckless Driving with Wanton Disregard, one count of Failure to Report Accident, and one count of Driving While License Revoked and held in lieu of a $7,500 bond.

Statesville Fire was able to extinguish the blaze, but not before the residence sustained major damage and is believed to be a total loss. All members of the family who reside at the residence were accounted for and uninjured.