Rude awakening for sleeping Hamilton couple
A Hamilton couple is badly shaken after a car crashed into their bedroom while they were asleep.
An out-of-control driver smashed into Matthew and Melissa McAdams’ house around midnight, showering them in glass and inflicting earthquake-like damage to the building.
There was no braking noise, just an enormous bang, Matthew told Stuff outside their Fairfield home.
‘‘I was literally lying there on my side looking out into the street and there was this broken windscreen.
‘‘We just woke up to, boom.’’
‘‘We were lucky, really lucky – the lady in the car was a lot worse off.’’
The impact pushed the window onto the couple, shattering it and sending glass fragments flying over them and into the hallway.
The car bonnet hit the base of the bed, causing a domino effect, pushing the bed back against their bedside table, which in turn was pushed into the wall.
The immediate aftermath was total confusion, Melissa said.
‘‘I was thinking, what the heck? I then checked to see if Matthew was okay as the window was on him and I couldn’t tell if he was hurt.’’
The only injuries they received were numerous small cuts from the broken glass, evident in the blood-smeared duvet still on the bed.
Matthew said the female driver was quiet at first. Then she started screaming.
Smoke from the wrecked car filled the room. The couple called emergency services and the driver was taken to hospital.
Police have yet to decide if charges will be laid.
‘‘The neighbours said they just heard a revving of the motor and then a bang,’’ Matthew said.
The true extent of the damage became clear on Friday morning. Glass, bits of broken wood and cladding littered the floor alongside their belongings.
Their dog was the worst injured, needing stitches by an emergency veterinarian for a badly cut foot.
Melissa said they had about two hours’ sleep since the crash, having spent the early hours of the morning at her parents’ home. ‘‘When I’ve tried to sleep, my stomach was churning because I was thinking about everything.’’
The couple spoke with their insurer and a builder assessed the damage, telling them it was repairable, but it would take at least three months before it was liveable again.
The builder then returned around midday to patch up the large hole.
The force of the car’s impact pushed the house about 20 centimetres off the base of its foundation. There are cracks all up the walls and in the ceiling of the rooms next to where the car hit the house.
‘‘It’s like earthquake damage to the whole house,’’ Matthew said.
‘‘There’s no room in the house that hasn’t been damaged,’’ Melissa added.