CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – A Cleveland family injured when a car crashed into their apartment is now suing the building’s owner.

Stephanice Washington hopes a lawsuit will convince them to make safety improvements before someone else gets hurt.

Washington says her family is still reeling from the pain and trauma they suffered on October 25, 2022.

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It was then that she and her two sons sat in the living room of their first-floor apartment in the Brooklyn Center neighborhood of Cleveland.

Suddenly, a car crashes into their home – sending them all flying.

“The car was coming, like it’s coming right at me,” Washington said. “The chair turned and it threw me into the closet.”

A black Chevy Malibu crashed into the apartment. The driver, Nia Nicole Moxley, did not have a license and was not seriously injured.

However, the force of the crash forced Stephanice into a closet – her two sons were trapped under the car and heavy debris.

Firefighters were the first on the scene.

“All I tell them is, ‘Take my kids, I don’t care about me, just get my kids out,'” Washington said.

Washington’s sons suffered from severe bruising, broken bones and lacerations.

The crash caused one of them to have convulsions.

“He’s on the floor, bricks on top of him, the car on top of him,” Washington said. “He grabbed, you can see the vibration of him grabbing.”

Fast forward to today, Washington says her sons still suffer from nerve pain and Stephanice is now confined to a scooter.

“I will live with this pain for the rest of my life,” Washington said.

“When you don’t feel safe in your home, you don’t have a safe haven,” Washington’s lawyer said Eric Henrik. “This has affected them physically and psychologically.”

This year, Washington sued the building’s owner, Wolfe Pintus Brooklyn LLC.

Henry wants them to compensate his clients and install bollards to protect the residents on the first floor, as their apartments are partially underground.

“Unless change is made, unless certain safety features are put in place and observed, this could very well happen again,” Henry said.

Court records show Wolfe Pintus has denied any wrongdoing in this case.

Also, there is no sign that they have installed any barriers to prevent this from happening again.

“We hope that will be one of the victories in our case,” Henry said. “It will make this a safer apartment building for the residents who live there.”

Washington says if barriers had been in place two years ago, she and her sons would not be suffering today.

“They’re recovering but they’re still suffering,” Washington said.

“To me, that’s inherently dangerous and something that should have been fixed a long time ago,” Henry said.

Moxley was sentenced to two months of community service.

19 investigations reached out to Wolfe Pintu’s lawyers but have not heard back.

Currently, both sides are negotiating.

If they can’t agree on a settlement, this case will go to trial next June.

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