Laois homeowner in 'fear' as car crashes into house where children normally play

A homeowner was counting his blessings after a car ploughed through a wall and into his garden where his children normally play. 

The crash occurred on Tankardstown Barrowhouse Road at around 4.30pm on Friday, February 13. The Volkswagen Golf car hit a pole further up the road before it crashed through a hedge and smashed a wall sending blocks onto the family home.   

The homeowner, who didn’t want to be named, said it was the second time in nine months that a car has crashed into his home.

“I live in fear to be honest because the kids are always out,” the man explained. He has five children and the youngest, who are aged nine and ten, were thankfully attending a party when the crash happened.  They would normally have been outside playing around the house, he explained. 

A woman and two children were in the car at the time of the crash. They didn’t receive any serious injuries. Gardaí and the ambulance service attended the scene and the road was closed until 8.30pm.  

“It shook the house,” the homeowner revealed. He said the crash caused substantial damage to his property and even caused stone to fall off the fireplace inside the home. 

READ ALSO: Councillor says speed van 'sneakily parked' on Laois road

According to the homeowner, there have been numerous crashes on the road which he believes are related to speeding. He said as well as the two cars which crashed into his home, four cars had turned over on a bad bend further up the road. He says speed is the main issue on the road which up to two months ago had a regular speed van. 

Pictured above: A previous crash at the same house

He said that he along with other neighbours want to see the van in operation on the road where the speed limit was dropped from 80kph to 60kph last year.