Car crashes into home after hitting bicyclist in Northwest Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- There were frightening moments in Northwest Fresno when a driver slammed into a home just after hitting a bicyclist. Now police are trying to figure out what caused the crash as the cyclist recovers from surgery.

The 20-year-old cyclist underwent surgery at Community Regional Medical Center Monday. Fresno police say he had life-threatening injuries to his head and body and was in critical condition.

Right now it's still unclear what caused the driver to lose control of his car. It was more than four hours after the crash when the mangled Honda Civic was finally towed away. Fresno firefighters spent time shoring up the damaged walls for the homeowner Hal Hamilton.

"We were watching television," Hamilton said. He and his wife ran outside to find a red coupe wedged against his car after the Honda ripped off the garage door.

"I was in Korea so I know what a bomb sounds like," he said. "It sounded like a bomb going off."

"It was smoking," Hamilton added. "I kept yelling turn it off, turn it off. Finally he turned it off, but you see the rest of it."

The rest of it was scattered on Hamilton's neighbor's yard, where the driver squeezed between the home and a large tree after hitting some bushes.

Witnesses say the driver may have suffered some sort of medical episode, causing the 46-year-old man to lose control. "They claim he had, was type 1 diabetic," said neighbor Richard McDonough. "And he could have passed out. We don't know yet. They took him away."

Before hitting the home, about 200 yards away, police say the driver struck a 20-year-old man on a bike. The cyclist was in the bike lane riding to work. When police found him he was severely injured.

"We're praying for the young boy, that he's gonna be okay," McDonough said.

Fresno PD's accident reconstruction team is working to piece the crash together. The driver of the Honda Civic was not injured, but neighbors say he was taken to the hospital.

Police have not yet said whether the driver will be cited for the crash.