Pillow saves child's life in house crash

The stolen car crashed into this house in Papatoetoe early on Friday while it was being chased by the police. Photo / Dean Purcell

A 4-year-old boy whose bedroom was ploughed into by a stolen car early yesterday was saved from serious injury by his habit of sleeping under a pillow, his father says.

The Nissan Tino vehicle smashed into the brick wall of the bedroom, on the corner of Kimpton and Stonex Rds, Papatoetoe, about 4.30am, covering the child with debris and breaking his bed and bedside table.

The boy's parents, who did not want to be named, woke to a loud bang and rushed into their son's bedroom to see only his feet sticking out from under the rubble.

But for a few bruises, he was unharmed. His 2-year-old brother, who would usually be in a bed beside him, was sleeping with his parents.

"I heard him screaming," his mother told the Herald. "I came in and everything was on top of him. I'm not quite sure how he survived."

His father said the child usually slept with a pillow on top of his head - which would have softened the blow and probably saved his life.

Ambulance officers assessed the boy at the scene, but he suffered only a couple of bruises on his back and head.

The child was happy and playing with a toy car when the Herald visited yesterday. His mother said he was inquisitive about the incident.

"We've had to answer lots of questions, like 'Why is there a mess in my bedroom?' and 'When am I going to get a new bed?'," said the mother.

Police arrested the driver of the vehicle, who, the family said, appeared drunk and was swearing from a patrol car after the incident.

Sergeant Tony Costley said a police patrol car spotted the station wagon at Hunter's Corner and chased the driver for less than a minute before the crash occurred.

"[The child] was very lucky. How he didn't get hurt I don't know. I saw all the bricks on top of the pillow where his head would have been."

A 29-year-old local appeared in the Manukau District Court later in the day on a raft of driving and possession-of-weapons charges.

He allegedly had homemade nunchucks and the metal bar of a golf club in the backseat of the car.

The boy's family said it was only a matter of time before someone was hurt in the area as boy racers often sped around the neighbourhood.

They had spoken to police and local councillors about the problem but nothing had been done to fix it.

They said the incident was the latest in a string of trouble they had faced since moving to the area three years ago.

"We are looking to move, sell this property," the child's father said.

"It's not really a family area any more."