A dangerous driver who had already caught police attention narrowly missed a man on a deck before smashing into a house and coming to a stop within 30cm of a mother and her daughter.
The dramatic crash left one neighbour wondering whether his Grand Theft Auto game had turned real.
The owner of the home at the corner of Celadon Place and Druces Rd in the South Auckland suburb of Wiri told the Herald she was sitting on the couch with her adult daughter when the car barrelled through their lounge window about 10pm.
“We heard screeching, then we heard a crash, which must have been when it came through our fence.
“Then we heard this humungous noise. I managed to throw myself over – my daughter did the same at the other end of the couch – and I really didn’t think I was going to get right away … but [in the end] it was only a matter of a foot [between us and the car].
“Yeah, so very, very scary.”
She had a few scratches but was otherwise unharmed, said the woman, who asked not to be named.
Her daughter wasn’t hurt, but was “really shook up”.
“I mean, we’re all in shock. Plus, my [adult] son was out on the [ground level] balcony … just to the side of where it happened. He was on his phone and heard the impact … he was scared ... there was no time to warn anybody.”
Her son confronted the driver when the man emerged from the car.
“[My son] gave him a bit of a pull to say, ‘What the hell?’ … and then [the driver] staggered through the fence and that was when the police arrived.”
The home was insured, but the family had been left with “a lot of damage” to repair, she said.
Footage shot by neighbour Graycen Vaireka immediately after the crash showed the back of a small grey car sticking out of the house, with red and blue lights flashing in the darkness as police handcuffed a man sitting on the grass.
Vaireka was gaming when he heard sirens and a “loud bang”.
“I was playing Grand Theft Auto, so I thought it was the game, and then I looked outside the window and it was an actual car, like some real-life GTA.”
The 22-year-old heard the car drift for about five seconds before the crash.
“That was like a really loud screech, like he had absolutely turned the wheel and then the smack into the fence [and] the house was really loud.”
Police confirmed they arrested a 36-year-old man soon after the crash.
A patrol vehicle had earlier spotted a car being driven erratically in the Wiri area, with the driver seen running red lights, a police spokesman said.
“The unit took action and signalled for this vehicle to stop, but it fled. Due to its high speed, the unit lost sight of the vehicle and did not pursue it.
“The unit continued to travel at road speed and later came across the vehicle, after it had crashed into a house at the corner of Celadon Place and Druces Rd.”
Charges relating to the crash appear likely.
“It’s fortunate the man’s reckless actions did not cause serious harm to an innocent member of the community”, the spokesman said.
“Police will be putting the man before the court so he can be held accountable for his actions.”
Some neighbours told the Herald they had long been worried about dangerous driving in the area.
Leimoni Moala, who owns the home on the opposite corner of Celadon Place and Druces Rd, feared those speeding and pulling donuts at all hours could hit his 12-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter.
“They might get hit. It’s crazy the amount of smoke [they put out].”
His neighbour, after her narrow escape last night, plans to ask Auckland Council for barriers to protect corner properties.
“[People] are always hooning around,” she said. “We’ve been waiting for something [like last night] to happen.”
Local roads such as Celadon Place and Druces Rd are managed and maintained by councils.
An Auckland Transport spokesman said they hadn’t received any requests for barriers in this area and only one relating to excessive speed.
“Several factors are carefully considered prior to implementing crash barriers such as traffic speeds, crash history and the topography of the area. It is important we undertake this type of assessment to ensure crash barriers are only considered where a significant safety issue has been identified. We do this because crash barriers do not always improve road safety and sometimes create additional safety issues.
“In this case, there are also site constraints at this crossroad intersection and therefore, a crash barrier that meets minimum effective lengths could not be installed on the corners without adversely affecting access of other road users, including pedestrians.
“As Druces Road is an arterial road and carries high volumes of heavy commercial vehicles, speed calming devices such as speed humps are not appropriate, however we will visit the site in the near future to see if there are any improvements that can be identified, such as signage or roadmarkings.”
People could raise concerns online about local roads in the supercity.
Cherie Howie is an Auckland-based reporter who joined the Herald in 2011. She has been a journalist for more than 20 years and specialises in general news and features.