Devastation … Saeeda Bhatti surveys the ruins of her lounge room, where a hit-and-run driver crashed last month. 55987
By Belinda Nolan
A TAYLORS Lakes family is lucky to be alive after a hit-and-run driver crashed into their home and fled, leaving thousands of dollars worth of damage behind.
Saeeda Bhatti and her family have been living a nightmare since a teenager smashed through a brick wall of their Booth Way home on 30 October and reversed out, leaving a trail of devastation in his wake.
Police say the 18-year-old was travelling west down Booth Way when he lost control of the car, smashing through one wall of the two-storey house and stopping in the lounge room. The driver then reversed, destroying another wall before fleeing the scene.
Although the incident caused extensive damage to the home, it is nothing compared with the emotional trauma the family has suffered.
Although they were not at home at the time of the incident, Mrs Bhatti said her family continued to be haunted by what might have been.
“If we had have been home there is no telling what would have happened,” Mrs Bhatti told the Star.
“If we were home the whole family would have been sitting in the lounge room, which is where the impact occurred.
“I keep thinking what would have happened to my children if we were home when it happened.”
When Mrs Bhatti and her five children returned home from visiting a friend’s house, they were confronted by the devastating scene.
“It looked as though there had been some kind of disaster like an earthquake,” Mrs Bhatti said.
“There was glass everywhere, furniture in pieces and huge holes in the wall.
“It was absolutely shocking.”
Sunshine Police Constable Dylan Langerak, who is investigating the incident, said it was the most extensive damage he had seen in his career.
“It looked like a bomb had hit it,” Const Langerak said.
On the day following the accident, an 18-year-old man surrendered himself to Keilor Downs Police.
Const Langerak said the man claimed he had panicked and said his actions had been affected by stress.
But detectives examining the scene allege that the teenager had behaved like a hoon, attempting to perform a u-turn at high speed and accelerating through the house.
Const Langerak said the man was co-operating with police and was expected to be charged on summons with a range of offences for dangerous and reckless driving.
