June 23--Two San Jose homes lit up in a two-alarm blaze early Saturday morning after a stolen vehicle carrying four juveniles crashed into the houses and broke a gas line, officials said.
At about midnight, a police officer in a patrol car saw a vehicle with no headlights heading the opposite direction on Vistapark Drive, near Branham Lane, said San Jose police Officer Albert Morales.
"He sees it, it turns and almost immediately, as soon as it turns, they lose control of it," Morales said. The vehicle careened right onto Bluefield Drive and crashed into two homes on the 300 block.
In the process, it ruptured a gas line -- causing the vehicle and both houses to go up in flames.
Officers evacuated two families from the houses as firefighters battled the two-alarm fire until 4 a.m., said Eric Joslin, a senior dispatcher with the San Jose Fire Department. The homes incurred "extensive damage," he said.
None of the residents was injured and they were able to find other housing without the American Red Cross' help, Joslin said. A police officer and a firefighter, however, ended up with minor injuries during the evacuation, officials said.
A Pacific Gas and Electric Co. crew was also on the scene, fixing the broken gas line, officials said.
The driver of the vehicle was booked into juvenile hall, and one of the passengers was treated for non-life threatening injuries at a local hospital, Morales said. The two others were released to their guardians.
Stephanie M. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @stephaniemlee
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