BLOOMINGTON - If "feisty Granny" Vera Ely hadn't been so persistent in wanting to vacuum her apartment Thursday morning, Debbie Ashman says she and two young children would've been inside when a sport utility vehicle crashed through a bedroom wall, critically injuring the 91-year-old. | Photo gallery | Video

But because Ashman had forgotten to bring over a vacuum to Ely's new apartment like she had asked, everyone left to go get one - except Ely, who is the great-great-great grandmother of two of Ashman's own grandchildren.

"If she hadn't been there complaining about the vacuum, I would have been there with the kids," said Ashman of her 2-year-old grandson and another 4-year-old in her family.

Ely remained in critical condition Friday at a Bloomington hospital with a fractured skull and crushed facial bones after a neighbor trying to park an SUV accidentally drove through a parking shelter and into the apartment. Ely was in hit the head with debris, police said.

The driver, Nancy Simmons, 52, told police she didn't know why the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated. The crash is under investigation, and Simmons has been charged with driving an uninsured motor vehicle.

Ashman said doctors told the family that the first 48 hours were key, but that Ely fortunately had no internal injuries. Ely, who has a pacemaker, has been largely unresponsive, but Ashman said she's "acting like she's fighting against the ventilator, indicating she knows it's there."

"Granny's real feisty and she's a fighter, so we're seeing that in her," Ashman said Friday while at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center.

Ashman said Ely moved into the lower-level apartment earlier this month with her great-great granddaughter, Nikki Runyon; Runyon's daughter, Kaisha, 4; and Ashman's 23-year-old daughter, Julia Ashman. Debbie Ashman, who is moving into an apartment across the parking lot from the damaged unit, is not Ely's blood relative.

Rescue crews and bystanders initially thought a child may have been inside the apartment at the time of the crash because children's videos and clothing was visible in the debris.

But Ashman and the two young children had left about 15 minutes earlier, and her daughter Julia, who is pregnant and due in late October, was in Chicago for the day.

It was unclear if Ely was awake or sleeping in the bedroom when the crash happened.

"Granny is the most giving and wonderful lady in the entire world," Ashman said. "They don't come any better."

No renters' insurance

The tenants do not have renters' insurance and have not heard from Kauffman Apartments, the management company, on when they'll be able to move back in.

Ashman said Friday the family has barely left the hospital since the crash, though they could stay at Ashman's current apartment if need be.

Owner John Kauffman said Friday that a contractor and a dumpster were on site and cleanup had already begun. He didn't have a timetable set for the completion of the repairs, but he said he "usually doesn't let (contractors) just take their time with it."

"As far as the unit goes, we'll put it back to the condition it was in," he said.

Kauffman said he expects his insurance to cover the entire costs of the repair. He could not provide a dollar estimate.

The entire building was evacuated immediately after the crash as rescue crews pulled the vehicle from the building. Most residents were allowed back inside Thursday afternoon, but a structural engineer had to inspect the property before tenants in the units directly above Ely's apartment could return.

Kauffman said Friday that residents had been allowed to return to those final two units.