Lucky escape when bus smashes into house

Rescue services clean up after a bus and car collided in Pt England yesterday. Picture / Greg Bowker

Occupants of a Pt England home narrowly avoided injury after a Stagecoach bus smashed into their house and came within centimetres of ploughing into their living room.

Eyewitnesses said the bus had tried but failed to avoid a silver car that had shot across its path at the intersection of Pt England and Dalton Rd. The collision sent both vehicles flying into the sections of two neighbouring houses with the bus hitting the house on the intersection.

One of the house's three occupants was counting his lucky stars yesterday evening. He was sitting in the living area when he heard the accident."There was a bang and there was a bus coming towards my house. I just saw it coming and told everyone to go and move to the other side. If it had just gone a little bit more, it would have got all of us."

Tia Fa'asio was walking down the road with two friends and saw the accident. "You only see it in movies, so we didn't know what had happened in real life. But it was loud. A mate of mine ran up because he heard the sound."

She later saw the young female driver of the silver car get out of her car into a waiting ambulance. "She was bleeding from her legs."

Ruta Tuitolovaa was in her garden and saw the silver car as it went up Dalton Rd. "I saw the car come fast. I worried for my babies. It's lucky no one was outside."

She said it was a busy intersection where people were always speeding. Another resident said a similar accident had occurred before.

A Stagecoach spokesman said there were no passengers on the bus, which was heading back to the Auckland depot after completing its last run. Both drivers were taken to hospital with minor injuries.