UPDATED 12/12/10

Police have identified the driver of a car that crashed into a house in Ellicott City Friday night, igniting the car and setting the house on fire.

Bryan Thomas Bolster, 20, of Landing Road in Elkridge, was dead at the scene of the crash, according to authorities. Bolster is listed as a 2008 graduate of Howard High School.

Witnesses told police that the car, a BMW, was traveling at a high rate of speed on the 5100 block of Montgomery Road, which is also known as Route 103.

Bolster had twice pleaded guilty to speeding—once for driving 44 miles per hour when the limit was 30, once for driving 57 miles per hour when the limit was 30 —according to Maryland court records.

The car careened into the front porch of the home at 5109 Montgomery Road at 10:40 p.m. The car caught on fire, according to police, and the fire spread into the home.

The original story follows below:

One Dead After Car Crashes Into House in Ellicott City

One person is dead after a car crashed into a house in Ellicott City, according to Howard County Fire and Rescue.

The car, a BMW, crashed into the front porch of the Montgomery Road house at 10:40 p.m. Friday night.  The car caught on fire, according to police, and the fire spread into the home.

"I heard an explosion— then the lights went out," according to Mignon Geiglein, who lives behind the Montgomery Road home with John Geiglein.

Howard County Police believe the BMW lost control and ran off of the right side of the street as it was going westbound on Montgomery Road, which is also known as Route 103.

Witnesses told police that the car was traveling "at a high rate of speed." Police have not yet determined if road conditions played a part in the crash.

The car crashed into the corner of the house, according to police. The two people inside the house made it out safely with their pets. The driver of the BMW, who was the only person in the car, was dead on the scene.

The driver's identity is unknown, according to police; authorities have not released the driver's age or gender.

When the Geigleins heard the crash, they went outside to investigate, "the flames were all you could see," recalled John Geiglein.

The Geigleins were immediately concerned about their neighbor, Kyle Marriott, who owns the house at 5109 Montgomery Road. Although his vehicle appeared totaled from impact of the other car hitting it, and his house was still smoking from the fire, Marriott was okay, according to officials.

As soon as the car hit, he evacuated the house with his girlfriend and their three dogs: two Rottweilers and a mutt. Marriott was just finishing a renovation project on the property, the Geigleins said.

What the neighbors gathered was this: a BMW had hit a power line, stone wall, and finally the house. As a result, the Geigleins and their neighbors, standing outside at the scene of the accident, had lost power and were in the dark.

They said they might spend the night in a hotel, but they weren't able to go anywhere because of the fire trucks. A section of Montgomery Road was blocked off as officials worked to put out the fire and clear the scene.

The Geigleins said that accidents in this area weren't uncommon. "You hear these loud fender-benders," said Mignon Gieglein, noting there's a blind spot on this particular part of Montgomery Road. But those accidents were nothing, she added—looking at the pair of crumpled vehicles—like this.

Fire and police continue to investigate.