Drunk driver destroys Fixer Upper house: Motorist plows into $35k home as owners who spent $215k on renovations complain they were duped into moving to a crime-riddled 'Wild West'

  • Alleged drunk driver plowed through walls in a home featured on Fixer Upper
  • Driver Allen Miller, 31, was taken to the hospital for injuries before being booked
  • Home's original price tag was just $35,000 leaving $215,000 for renovations
  • Homeowners Ken and Kelly Downs are furious about their home being destroyed
  • The Downs say their neighborhood is unsafe with bars and suspicious activity
  • The couple questions why the Fixer Upper hosts, Chip and Joanna Gaines, showed them the house in a neighborhood with issues  

A property renovated on Fixer Upper was destroyed early Saturday morning when a drunk driver smashed through the front and ended up in one of the rooms.

Ken and Kelly Downs, the owners of the property in Waco, Texas, have been left to pick up the pieces after the motorist plowed through the home at 1am.

The couple, who were featured on the hit HGTV show in February 2016, say they've been frustrated with crime in their neighborhood since they moved in.

They now say they feel deceived by Fixer Upper's Chip and Joanna Gaines' realty company, Magnolia Realty.

A car may have plowed into the front of their home, but they say there is a bigger issue with the neighborhood in general.

A property renovated on Fixer Upper was destroyed early Saturday morning when a drunk driver smashed through the front and ended up in one of the rooms 

A property renovated on Fixer Upper was destroyed early Saturday morning when a drunk driver smashed through the front and ended up in one of the rooms 

The room before the driver crashed into it. The fireplace on the right may have saved the Downs' lives as it likely stopped the car from entering their bedroom

The room before the driver crashed into it. The fireplace on the right may have saved the Downs' lives as it likely stopped the car from entering their bedroom

The car was wedged in the home, and the alleged drunk driver was stuck inside the car

The car was wedged in the home, and the alleged drunk driver was stuck inside the car

The Downs question why Chip and Joanna Gaines on Fixer Upper would show them a home in an area with suspicious activity and noisy bars 

Ken Downs
Kelly Downs

The couple (Ken on the left, Kelly on the right) say they've been frustrated with crime in their neighborhood since they moved in

One of the two rooms that were impacted by the car careening into the home  

One of the two rooms that were impacted by the car careening into the home  

'It's like the Wild West here' they told the Waco Tribune-Herald

'There's been a lot of commotion coming from the bars and the store across the street,' Kelly said. 'It's been a problem from the beginning. We've lived here a year and a half and we feel deceived by the city of Waco and Magnolia Realty.' 

Allen Wayne Miller is bloodied in his mug shot from Saturday's arrest

Allen Wayne Miller is bloodied in his mug shot from Saturday's arrest

The home's original price tag was just $35,000, which left them a whopping $215,000 for renovations. 

Ken and Kelly were sleeping in their bedroom at the time of the crash and fortunately were unhurt. 

But their house - nicknamed the 'Three Little Pigs' house and featured on Season 3, Episode 12 of HGTV's 'Fixer Upper' - sustained considerable damage. 

The car mowed down an exterior wall and a parallel interior wall of a front room office.

Tires left grooves in the sloped front lawn but didn't leave any apparent damage on the front porch, seeming to indicate the car went over the porch, crashing through a railing and two walls, according to Waco Assistant Fire Chief Don Yeager.

The driver, according to Yeager caught air as he crashed through the home.

'The yard is built up several feet, and he hit the embankment of the yard, apparently went airborne, and like a lot of older homes, this house was built up off the ground, so he cleared the rest of the yard,' Yeager said.

'He didn't hurt the hedges, but he took out the railing on the porch and went right into the window of the front room and hit an interior wall that might be a load-bearing wall.' 

The Downs now say they feel deceived by Fixer Upper's Chip and Joanna Gaines' realty company, Magnolia Realty. Above, the home after the renovation 

The Downs now say they feel deceived by Fixer Upper's Chip and Joanna Gaines' realty company, Magnolia Realty. Above, the home after the renovation 

The house sustained serious damage after the drunk driving incident 

The house sustained serious damage after the drunk driving incident 

Above, Ken's 'office' space after the renovation. It was this front office that the drunk driver crashed into 

Above, Ken's 'office' space after the renovation. It was this front office that the drunk driver crashed into 

Kelly got an office of her own after the renovation as well 

Kelly got an office of her own after the renovation as well 

Ken and Kelly were sleeping in their bedroom at the time of the crash and fortunately were unhurt. Above, the bedroom after it was renovated 

Ken and Kelly were sleeping in their bedroom at the time of the crash and fortunately were unhurt. Above, the bedroom after it was renovated 

The Gaines updated the kitchen with brand-new cupboards and stainless steel appliances 

The Gaines updated the kitchen with brand-new cupboards and stainless steel appliances 

The Downs were surprised when they first saw their finished home in the February 2016 episode 

The Downs were surprised when they first saw their finished home in the February 2016 episode 

Police and fire crews were called to the home at 1:20am after a car crashed into the home, Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said. 

Swanton said the driver, Allen Wayne Miller, 31, was found in a Hyundai Accent wedged inside the home.

Miller tried to get out of the car to flee, but firefighters were able to detain him until police arrived. 

Swanton said Miller was taken into custody on a driving while intoxicated charge.

The Downs' house is at the end of North 19th Street's 'T' intersection with Alexander, and Kelly said it isn't the first time the neighborhood has had issues with drivers failing to stop. 

The Downs have also been renting out their home on Airbnb  

The Downs have also been renting out their home on Airbnb  

Swanton said the driver was taken to Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Medical Center for minor injuries before he was taken to jail.

Ralph Strother, 19th State District Court judge, signed a search warrant for a blood draw for Miller about 3:30am. The judge said the search warrant affidavit states Miller was aggressive with authorities.

Miller had been released from McLennan County Jail by Saturday evening.

Veronia Perez, who lives two houses down on Alexander Avenue, said the early morning wreck didn't wake her family, but she noticed the damage when taking her daughter to work Saturday morning. 

By Saturday afternoon, plywood sheets covered the hole in the exterior wall. Inside, Ken Downs was tasked with picking through the rubble of his home and his belongings. Broken ceramics, electronics and books were scattered about. 

The home before the crash and before the renovations. The house nickname: 'Three Little Pigs House' from the episode it was featured on, maybe the driver thought he was the big bad wolf 

The home before the crash and before the renovations. The house nickname: 'Three Little Pigs House' from the episode it was featured on, maybe the driver thought he was the big bad wolf 

The Gaines are seen showing the Downs around the home before the renovations 

The Gaines are seen showing the Downs around the home before the renovations 

The former front living room is pictured above, with dated green paint 

The former front living room is pictured above, with dated green paint 

The Gaines later took out this fireplace, but used the bricks elsewhere in the house 

The Gaines later took out this fireplace, but used the bricks elsewhere in the house 

The Gaines had their work cut out for them in the dated kitchen 

The Gaines had their work cut out for them in the dated kitchen 

The master bedroom is pictured above before the renovation 

The master bedroom is pictured above before the renovation 

The brick fireplace that was part of Chip and Joanna Gaines' renovation may have saved the Downs' lives as it is likely what stopped the car from careening into their bedroom.

Security cameras mounted on the front porch may have caught the wreck as it happened, and the Downs' intend to forward any footage to police and city officials.

Ken, a digital design engineer, and Kelly, an occupational therapist, met in Dallas a few years ago and married. His place, however, was too small.

'We had to get out of his small bachelor's pad,' Kelly Downs said.

The home's front bedrooms were converted into his-and-hers office spaces, the room on the left front with touches by Joanna for Kelly, the one on the right with Chip's input for Ken.

'It was a really nice concept,' Kelly Downs said to the Waco-Tribune.

Map showing the  rural town of Waco Texas, a two hour drive from the  city of Dallas

Map showing the rural town of Waco Texas, a two hour drive from the city of Dallas

While the Downs encountered some problems with their home after moving in, the neighborhood had issues they did not expect: late-night noise from nearby bars, suspicious activity and push-back, some of it anti-'Fixer Upper,' from local residents when they complained to police.

'We have been intimidated and harassed,' Kelly Downs said. 'People have complained about their taxes going up because we moved here. Store owners have complained about taxes.' 

They thought they were moving to a 'friendlier' place. In an interview just before they moved in, and still unfamiliar with the neighborhood Kelly said of Waco: 'It’s a calmer city than Dallas. I think it will be friendlier as well.'

With their home destroyed, Kelly says she wonders why Magnolia Realty showed them a house in an area with so many issues. 

'This is what we've been saying. There's a big problem here. It's not safe,' Kelly Downs said. 'This is a "Fixer Upper" gone bad.'   

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