An OAP was saved when a speeding Audi demolished his kitchen in a breakfast-time crash because he had decided to have a lie in.
Hans Wilhelm Vagts, 74, a farmer from the municipality of Bargstedt, in the district of Stade, in north-western Germany’s state of Lower Saxony, told local media that he usually sits in his kitchen every morning to have his coffee and read the newspaper.
But he decided to stay in bed with his wife a little longer on Saturday morning (12th November) and he said that this decision probably saved his life after a 27-year-old driver, who has not been named, lost control of his Audi and smashed it into the pensioner’s house at around 6:25am.
The young driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, drove over a central island, knocked down a traffic light, ripped up a tree trunk – that landed 30 metres (100 feet) away – and smashed into the entrance to Vagt’s house, with one of the vehicle’s wheels thundering into the kitchen.
The tyre embedded itself into the kitchen counter, with the rim and the remains of the wheel ending up on the kitchen floor.
The OAP is quoted in local media as saying: “I was already awake, but I was still in bed when it banged. I had to clear debris to get out of the room.”
He added: “A policewoman took care of the driver and alerted the emergency services.”
It reportedly took the fire brigade an hour and a half to free the driver, who was seriously injured in the accident, from the wreckage of the car, which was a complete write-off.
Vagt said: “The accident happened exactly when my wife and I usually have breakfast. If I had been sitting in my seat, I would have been hit by the wheel – and probably dead.”
Despite the damage to his home totalling approximately EUR 100,000 (GBP 87,400), the OAP said that he is “celebrating my second birth!”
The Stade police said in a statement obtained by Newsflash on 12th November: “A serious traffic accident occurred early this morning at around 06:25 a.m. in Bargstedt on state road 123.
“A 27-year-old Audi driver from Harsefeld was travelling from Brest towards Bargstedt at the time. At the entrance to Bargstedt, he then lost control of his vehicle for reasons that have not yet been clarified, drove over a central island at a traffic light there and then made a right turn straight through a hedge onto a plot of land belonging to an agricultural company.
“Here the vehicle finally came to a standstill in the entrance of a single-family home.
“A traffic light mast was completely destroyed by the force of the impact and thrown onto the property. There, a tree trunk was torn out of the ground and thrown against the wall of the house about 30 metres away.”
The police added: “The Audi crashed through the entrance area of the house, so that the front door and collapsed parts of the wall flew far into the hallway. A front tire came loose on impact, punched through a window and landed in the kitchen.
“The driver was trapped in his wreckage and had to be freed with heavy rescue equipment by around 50 firefighters from the local fire services from Bargstedt and Harsefeld. To do this, it was necessary to cut off the roof of the vehicle and thus clear the way to the patient.”
The police confirmed that the driver had “suffered serious injuries in the accident.”
They added: “After first aid by the emergency doctor and the crews of two ambulances, he was taken to the Elbe Clinic in Stade with serious injuries.
“The Audi was totally destroyed in the accident and the building was also badly damaged. Experts will get an overview of the damage today and initiate appropriate security measures.
“The couple living in the house were still in the bedroom at the time of the accident and were then able to get to safety unharmed.
“According to initial estimates, the property damage caused could amount to almost EUR 100,000.”
There had been no updates on the condition of the driver at the time of writing.
