Freak crash kills man in bedroom

The car narrowly missed letterboxes and trees before it crashed into the house. Photo / NZPA

An 88-year-old man had just walked into his bedroom when a car driven by another elderly man came crashing through the wall, killing him.

Police believe North Shore resident Lawrence More, who was known as Laurie, had just entered the room, as the door was found ajar.

Mr More's wife rushed from another room in the multi-storey home in East Coast Rd, Northcross, to find her husband lying on the ground.

A neighbour said the bedroom unit was especially built for Mr More when he started having trouble getting up and down the stairs.

It is understood Mr More lived in the house with his wife, daughter and son-in-law.

The driver of the red Toyota Camry that smashed through the front wall was last night in a "monitored area" of North Shore Hospital waiting to be seen by doctors, a staff member said.

Senior Constable Karl Bevin, of the Waitemata serious crash unit, said the Toyota was travelling south along East Coast Rd, near the intersection with Glamorgan Drive, when it veered off the road, up the grass verge and into the house.

He said several motorists and an off-duty police officer stopped to help the man, but Mr More could not be saved. Devastated family members were being counselled at a neighbouring house.

A woman living there said, "They have been our friends for a long time," but she declined to comment further.

Neighbour Jamie Cameron described Mr More as a nice guy who always said "hi".

Specialist police officers later analysed the scene of the fatality, and a tow truck arrived to remove the Toyota.

Locals and passersby looked on, expressing surprise at the freak accident.

"I just can't believe he missed all of that," said Tom Clarke, pointing to a crop of trees and mailboxes, between the road and the house.

Mr Clarke biked past the scene just after the crash and saw a man being ushered into the backseat of a police car.

Kirsten Frost was at her home in Cairnbrae Court - in the valley behind Mr More's house - when she heard "an almighty boom".

"It was just like a bomb," she said. "I went and checked my gas. I thought, 'Jeez, it's my gas'."

Ms Frost was shocked by the accident. "A man sits in his house and he gets killed by a car that runs in. That's pretty scary, isn't it?"

The serious crash unit is investigating but Mr Bevin said it was too early to say how the crash occurred or whether charges would be laid.