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DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines man is dead after crashing his vehicle into a house on the city’s south side overnight, police said.

The sound of the crash was startling. “It sounded like a gunshot went off,” said Robert Cooper, who heard the crash from his home. The damage it left behind was devastating. “As soon as our folks got here, they knew it was going to be a bad one,” said Des Moines Police Sgt. Paul Parizek.

Des Moines police say a single-vehicle crash around 1 a.m. Sunday was fatal for a 31-year-old man in the 900 block of County Line Road and SW 9th Street. Parizek said, “He lost control, he hit one pole and sheared it off, and that actually vaulted the car airborne until it struck a house on SW 9th [Street].”

Investigators say the crash was avoidable. Speed limit signs say 30 mph, but residents say it is common to see vehicles daily disobeying the signs. Investigators say excessive speed was a factor in the crash. Cooper said, “They go at least 90, 85 on this road every day, all day, and that’s not exaggerating at all. I yell at people all the time to slow down. I have a 9-year-old sister and 2-year-old brother that play outside every day and I don’t let them leave the front porch.”

Police say speeding just isn’t worth a life. Parizek said, “Leave a debris field that spreads 50 yards. These speeds were incredibly high and there is no coming back from that.”

The residents inside the home were uninjured. MidAmerican Energy crews worked for hours to replace two utility poles damaged in the crash.