The day a bus came knocking at the door

Finau Fuavai and her daughter Liuaki, 3, outside their Dominion Rd house. Picture / Kenny Rodger

When a Stagecoach driver saw a car pull out in front of him yesterday morning his first concern was trying to avoid a collision that would hurt the driver of the car.

He pulled to the left, clipped the back of the car and mounted the kerb on the corner of Dominion Rd and Donald Cres.

With the car out of his line of sight, his next concern was trying to avoid the house that was fast approaching in front of him.

The driver, who only wants to be known as Max, kept hitting the brakes but his bus still ploughed through a wooden fence.

It crashed down a slope before coming to a stop between the letterbox and a large steel pole, just meters from Finau Fuavai's home.

Mrs Fuavai and her young daughter were on their way back from the nearby shops when the accident happened.

Mrs Fuavai said all she could see was the rear of the bus in her yard.

"I had a shock," she said. "I thought the bus was inside my house."

Mrs Fuavai said the bus had come to rest on an area where she and her young daughter had walked just minutes earlier to leave their property. It was also an area where she normally parked her car and her children frequently played.

"It's just luck no one was hurt," she said.

Max said he had been returning to the bus depot when he saw a car pulling out of Donald Cres at a stop sign.

He said he could see what was about to happen and focused on trying to avoid hitting the car, then the house.

After the bus stopped the reality of what had just happened hit him.

Max got out of the bus and went to check on the driver of the car only to find the car had left the scene of the accident.

The 24-year-old driver, who would not give his name to the Herald, returned to the scene soon after. He said he saw the bus coming along Dominion Rd but was sitting in the median strip by the time it hit him.

Constable Tele Pinono said an investigation was underway but it was too early to say who was at fault or if charges would be laid.

No one was injured during the accident, although the front of the bus, back of the car and fence surrounding the house were all damaged.

Stagecoach's Mt Roskill manager Colin Somerville said it was lucky no one was injured.

"The guy's pulled right out in front of [the bus]. It could have been a lot worse."

Mr Somerville praised Max for taking "evasive action" to avoid a more serious collision with the car.

"He did a good job, he didn't hurt anybody."

Mr Somerville was yesterday taking Max back to the station for a strong cup of tea and then to the medical centre for a checkover.