AN ASHBOURNE pensioner who had to be cut free from a car by firemen after it crashed through the front of a neighbour’s home has spoken about her ‘lucky escape’.
Olga Eaton, from Wyaston, suffered only minor injuries, when the Vauxhall Astra driven by her daughter, Julia ‘lurched forward’ from her driveway and smashed through the front wall and into the home of neighbours of Sue and Len Green.
Emergency services descended on Pump Lane when the incident happened on Friday, August 20.
Following the incident, a structural engineer from Derbyshire Dales District Council was called out to make Mr and Mrs Green’s house safe after a large crack was noticed below a bedroom window.
Mrs Eaton, 69, said it was a “frightening” experience for herself and her 48 year-old daughter — who she said was still suffering from ‘he shakes’.
She told the News Telegraph: “We still don’t know what really happened.
“The car just shot forward and we hit the house.
“The next thing we knew, we were being cut from the car by firemen. It was very, very frightening.
“Julia’s a long-distance lorry driver, but has never been through anything like this before. She’s very shaken up about it.
“Thankfully, I only had slight injuries, but it could have been a lot worse.”
The pensioner, who is preparing to move to Tutbury, praised the work of the emergency services and the quick thinking of her friends and neighbours.
She said: “I want to say a massive thankyou to all the firemen who cut us free, and the doctors and paramedics — particularly the one who held my hand through the operation.
“It was very scary, so I am so glad they were there.
“Jean Forsyth and Emma Cross, my neighbours, were brilliant. As soon as they heard the crash, they came running out to see what happened and help us.
“Since the accident, they have been fantastic so supportive, we couldn’t have got through it without them.”
