Family escapes injury as driver hospitalised

having tea when it came through. We were worried about the neighbours … but it missed their cars.

“We thought trucks were dropping things off, then it (the car) hit the post and came just straight through.

“We all just started running.”

It is understood three residents were inside the house at the time of the crash, and all emerged unscathed.

Two cars were in the carport at the time, and both escaped damage, but the carport was damaged and a large hole was left in the brick wall at the front of the house

“He (the driver) was slumped over in his car. We didn’t know if he had a heart attack,” the neighbour said.

“His legs looked like they were on the passenger side.

“Police and fire (crews), they came straight away.”

Kirwan Police officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Jason Brosnan said it was lucky a tragedy was avoided.

“A lot of things could have gone wrong. Ross River Rd, as you know, is a four-lane carriageway and extremely busy,” he said.

“He (the driver) travelled approximately 100 metres on the wrong side of the road before coming to rest.

“So we have cyclists, pedestrians that use that road … it was sheer luck that nothing worse happened.

“The next-door neighbour was in the front yard, and does have children that reside at the address who had left a few moments before to go fishing.”

Sen-sgt Brosnan said the driver had been discharged from hospital after being treated for injuries and having a blood sample taken.

“A roadside breath test indicated traces of alcohol. As a result, he was taken up to the Townsville (University) Hospital, where blood was taken in relation to blood-alcohol reading,” he said.

“Initial evidence would seem to suggest that alcohol was a factor.

“The male driver was an elderly male, so we haven’t ruled out that it may have been a medical episode, and we’ll know more once the blood result comes back over the next few weeks.”