"They were screaming. I was screaming too. It took a long time to calm down."
Mr Tahu said he had gone outside enraged, prepared to remonstrate with the driver, but walked away until he had calmed down a little then returned to the scene to help those tending to the car's occupants. And by the time it was light enough to start cleaning up the mess he had adopted a philosophical attitude.
"It's better to be cleaning up this mess than burying someone," he said.
"And maybe this will make people think before they get in a car and drive like this."
The crash was the culmination of a brief police pursuit, the driver allegedly failing to stop after crashing into the rear of a stationary car on the intersection of Allen Bell Drive and Matthews' Avenue at about 1.30am.
A police spokesman said the driver sped off, chased by police, into Commerce Street, Blencowe Street, Puckey Avenue, Bank Street, back into Commerce Street and finally Grigg Street (which, beyond the crash scene, is a cul de sac). The entire pursuit took place within the 50km/h zone.
The driver lost control on a left-hand bend, the car crossing the centre line, running over the footpath, across an empty section, through a wooden fence and into the house. A fence paling was propelled through the bedroom window, smashing the glass and injuring the child.
One of three passengers reportedly ran off across nearby farm land, but returned to the scene, while both the driver, who was unconscious, and a rear seat passenger were trapped by the legs.
Both were cut free and taken to Kaitaia Hospital, the driver later being flown to Whangarei by rescue helicopter.
Mr Tahu, who said has lived in the Housing Corp house for more than 15 years, said he had been waiting for such a crash to happen. Cars routinely entered the bend at such speed that they crossed the centre line and mounted the footpath.
Three hours later emergency services from Kaitaia were called to West Coast Road, which leads from SH1 to Waipapakauri Ramp, where a Toyota Hilux had run off the road, travelled 136 metres along a drain, flipped on to the road and skidded another 46 metres on its roof, coming to rest in the middle of the road.
A woman who had been in the vehicle walked an unknown distance to call for help while a man remained trapped inside it. A police spokesman said both denied driving, and neither had admitted to knowing who the driver was.
Both were admitted to Kaitaia Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Meanwhile a two-car crash scene on State Highway 1 at Double Crossing, seven kilometres south of Kaitaia, on Thursday evening resembled a battleground according to Kaitaia's Chief Fire Officer Colin Kitchen.
One driver was critically injured. Mr Kitchen said his first thought when he saw the scene was that it was a miracle no one had died.
"When emergency services got there it was like a battleground with people lying everywhere," he said.
The accident involved a Honda Primo sedan and a four-wheel-drive. Two people were thrown from one of the vehicles, while the driver of the sedan had to be cut from the wreckage by firefighters. He was taken to Kaitaia Hospital in a critical condition, along with three others, with injuries ranging from moderate to serious. He has since been transferred to Whangarei Hospital. His condition was not available yesterday.
According to police the sedan had been heading north, and had just come over the brow of a hill as the four-wheel-drive was turning into a driveway. The 4x4 ended up on its side against a power pole.
Two of the injured were flown to Whangarei some four hours later, one of them in a critical condition while the other was serious. Their conditions were not available at deadline yesterday.
The police Serious Crash Unit is investigating all three crashes.
