Steve Walker of SJ Walker Builders repairing the bedroom roof - also pictured is Thomas Schuster's car, which is now a write-off. Photo / Imran Ali
Steve Walker of SJ Walker Builders repairing the bedroom roof - also pictured is Thomas Schuster's car, which is now a write-off. Photo / Imran Ali
Thomas Schuster is lucky to be alive after an out-of-control car crashed through steel barriers and hurtled down a steep bank before landing on the roof of his bedroom as he lay in bed.
But the worst was yet to come. The car then flipped on its roof and rolled down onto Schuster’s parked Daihatsu, which is now a write-off.
The drama unfolded on Western Hills Dr in Kensington about midnight Saturday, and Schuster said this was not the first time idiots behind the wheel have caused mayhem along State Highway 1 between William St and Russell Rd.
Police confirmed the car that came crashing down on Saturday was stolen. A person was taken into custody following the crash, but no charges had been laid yesterday afternoon.
He recalled lying in his bed while his wife Angelika was on her way to their bedroom on Saturday when they heard a bang on their roof. She described the noise as like a “bomb or grenade” going off.
The couple is renting the two-storey house, down a shared driveway.
The driver of a stolen car crashed through this pedestrian safety barrier and landed the vehicle on the roof of a house in Kensington. Photo / Imran Ali
“It appears the car was heading south when the driver lost control, took the pedestrian safety steel barriers, went over the hill and came down on our roof. If the roof gave in, there’s a good chance I’d be dead,” Schuster said.
“I saw the car light through my window after the car had landed on the roof. There was a bang and a little bit of the ceiling came off. But what happened next happened quickly. The car lights were still on, and it rolled down and landed on my car.
“That’s when I realised how [much] worse the situation [could have been]. I am lucky to be alive. It’s not fun, but again, you don’t quite realise what has happened until it happens.”
His bedroom roof was covered in tarpaulin yesterday, and Steve Walker from SJ Walker Builders was doing the repairs. The road was blocked as police arranged a tow truck and Hato Hone St John paramedics attended to the driver of the car. The driver was transported to Whangarei Hospital in a serious condition.
Schuster said it was the third time since last year that crashes such as the one on Saturday have happened in the area.
Last year, a stolen car came down into their neighbour’s compound, and a few months ago, a campervan crashed through a fence of another property.
“I’ve lived in this house since 2012, and nothing happened in all these years until last year. I drive a school van, and you see a lot of idiot drivers.”
Schuster said the police response was quick on Saturday, and he later learnt the driver was arrested somewhere along Western Hills Dr.
Meanwhile, one person was seriously injured in a separate crash on Riverside Dr in Whangārei on Saturday night. A single vehicle crashed into a building on the corner of Ewing Rd and Riverside Dr, police said. Hato Hone St John sent one ambulance, one rapid response unit and one manager to the scene. Four patients were transported to Whangārei Hospital. One was in a serious condition and three had minor injuries.
