One Valley Stream homeowner narrowly escaped a potential nightmare after she slept right through a car pounding into her back yard Monday.

Eighty-six-year-old Helen Burns says she believed somebody had been killed when she saw an overturned car in her Arkansas Drive back yard. Although Burns did not hear the 5 a.m. crash, police say a car traveling eastbound on the Southern State Parkway lost control and ended up in Burns' yard, which sits a mere 50 feet from the major roadway.

While police report nobody was injured, neighbors expressed concern over the lack of protection from the parkway. Dennis Andrews, a father of three, says if kids were playing in the yard the episode could have been far more tragic. He says he is hopeful the incident will prompt local government to build a stronger fence or wall.