A man had to be rescued by firefighters from a house that partially collapsed after a car crashed into it in Waltham Abbey, Essex. Police, paramedics and firefighters were called to the property on Ninefields shortly before 23:00 BST on Friday night, and found a silver Skoda emitting smoke after smashing into the corner of the building.
A woman was taken to hospital for what the ambulance service described as a precautionary assessment, while another man was safely removed from the rear of the property by a fire crew using a ladder. The driver was arrested at the scene on suspicion of being unfit through drink or drugs and was taken to hospital for treatment.
A home badly damaged
Photographs from the scene show the car lodged inside the house with a first-floor room and its contents, including boxes of books and bedding, collapsed on to its roof. The corner of the property has been torn away, leaving bricks scattered across the pavement and a large hole where the front of the house once stood. The area was cordoned off to the public with police tape and red and white barriers.
A spokesperson for Essex Fire and Rescue Service said: “A car had driven into a house and smoke was issuing from the vehicle.” They confirmed that no-one was trapped in the vehicle itself, and that one resident was rescued via a ladder at the rear of the property because of damage to the front of the house. The scene was then left with the police and the resident.
The questions that follow
Crashes into buildings are rare but follow a familiar pattern. The initial police attention goes to the driver and their fitness to drive, and structural engineers go on to assess how much of the surrounding property can be saved. In cases like this, the cost of the damage falls largely on householders and insurers, and the timeline for repairs can run into months.
Why it matters
Two households were directly affected by a single moment of poor driving on a residential street. The precautionary hospital assessment and the ladder rescue are the parts that matter most: one occupant was on the upper floor at the point the structure gave way. Essex Police’s arrest on suspicion of being unfit through drink or drugs is routine procedure in these cases and carries no conclusion.
ADVERTISEMENT
What happens next
Residents in the affected properties will be assessed by structural engineers before any work begins. The driver remains in custody and the police investigation will continue, with the outcome likely to be determined at court rather than by any on-the-scene ruling.
We do not allow links of any sort in comments. No SPAM whatsoever. On topic comments only.