‘All I could see was the destruction’
Helen Gleeson had been sitting in her lounge shortly after 7pm on Tuesday, she might not still be alive.
Thankfully the 78-year-old was in her bedroom when a red Toyota Camry careened through the corner of her home at the Bupa Winara Retirement Village in Waikanae, north of Wellington.
‘‘I got a hell of a fright,’’ she said. ‘‘At first I thought it was an earthquake, but the ground wasn’t moving so then I decided it must be a meteorite.
‘‘If I had been sitting in the chair I usually do I would have more than a few cuts, I tell you.’’
Upon hearing the bang, Gleeson rushed to her lounge to find the room destroyed, shards of glass and bricks ripping the upholstery on her favoured chair.
‘‘All I could see was the destruction, then a red car. I couldn’t comprehend what a red car was doing there.
‘‘It was hard to make sense of it all.’’
The car had been reversing out of the village and went through Gleeson’s home backwards.
Sitting ‘‘stunned’’ in the car was the driver, who was not a resident in the village.
‘‘He just sat in the car dumbstruck, he didn’t say anything to me,’’ Gleeson said.
‘‘I started to shake so I pushed on my personal alarm and somebody from the village came to me so quickly. They were marvellous, and so very kind.’’
With a little help from the village staff, the fire service and police ‘‘arrived in no time’’.
‘‘I’ve been in the village over 10 years and I consider myself lucky I was there,’’ said Gleeson. ‘‘If I had been in my own place it might have taken a lot longer to sort out.
‘‘They were there to help so fast, and sorted everything out for me. Even the builders were there fixing what they could before I left.’’
Gleeson will stay with her daughter, who lives locally, while repairs are made to her home.
A spokeswoman for Bupa said they were pleased Gleeson was looked after so quickly.
Kapiti police were unable to comment as inquiries were ongoing.