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Car crashes into Manteca home
Driver faces driving under influence charges
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Nicholas Daniel DeBenning, 23, failed to pass his DUI roadside test as officers watched him trying to keep his balance. - photo by GLENN KAHL

A Manteca man allegedly under the influence of drugs drove his 1994 Toyota into the front of a home in the 1700 block of Dalia Lane shortly before noon Monday taking out an upright support near the front door and damaging a second.

Nicholas Daniel DeBenning, 23, was arrested for the DUI charge and for possession of a baggy of marijuana buds as well as drug paraphernalia found in the vehicle.  He was booked in the Manteca Police Department and released on a citation after regaining his sobriety, officers said.

Manteca Police confirmed that there were no skid marks in the street when the car shot directly into the front of the house near the doorway that was unoccupied at the time.  A city engineer was called to the scene to determine whether the house was safe for occupancy.

A motorist who was driving behind DeBenning said the man’s car went up against the fence after glancing off the second upright support.  He noted that the driver attempted to back the vehicle out, but said it was caught behind a concrete roof support.

A box of CO2 like canisters of nitrous oxide used in a Whipit dispenser had scattered in the roadway near the sidewalk where the vehicle had made its initial contact.

Public information officer Lt. Tony Souza said DeBenning explained that he had just left his girlfriend’s house and was driving north on Tesoro Drive and talking on his phone when he crashed into the house.

The crash was in the Tesoro neighborhood northwest of where Woodward Avenue and Atherton Drive intersect.