MIRACLE ESCAPE
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
IMELDA Brown and Gerard Blair from Quayside Close, Newry, pictured at their home after a car crashed through the gates on Sunday night
A NEWRY man has said it was "a miracle" that nobody was killed when a car smashed through his gates and slammed into his Quayside Close house.
Gerard Blair's partner, Imelda Brown, was in the house on Sunday, January 6 at around 8.30pm when a car careered through their front gates and crashed against the building.
“She's terribly shaken by the whole thing," he said.
“She was upstairs when she heard this huge bang. She said it sounded like a plane had come through the front door.
“The driver of the car must have been doing an awful speed. We have these big heavy wrought iron gates and they were locked but the car just blasted through them.
“Somehow it managed to miss our car, which was parked in the driveway, but it slammed into the house.
“We have this patio door that we recently installed and I had placed three big concrete slabs in front of it as a step.
“These seem to be what stopped the car in the end. If they hadn't been there I have no doubt it would have ended up in the house.
“The emergency services all arrived at the scene and the fire service and paramedics spent about half an hour trying to get this young lad out of the car before he was stretchered away.
“Our house is a corner house facing the canal and just across from the path that takes you down to the Quays.
“That's where everyone would cross the road or would be out walking. It's an absolute miracle that nobody was there at the time and nobody was killed because this guy must have been going awful fast."
The PSNI confirmed that they had arrested a man and that no other vehicle was involved in the crash.
“Police in Newry arrested a 20 year old man on suspicion of driving whilst unfit and dangerous driving following a one vehicle road traffic collision in Quayside Close," a spokeswoman said.
“The collision occurred around 8.30pm on 6 January and damage was caused to a garden and property.
“The male was later released pending further enquiries."
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