A startled NHS worker was nearly crushed by her own car when it ploughed through her living room as she watched Love Island.
The dramatic incident happened when a hit-and-run driver smashed a stolen car into her parked vehicle and shunted it through the front of her house, causing extensive damage to her property.
Rhia Brindley was watching the TV show with her dog at around 22.15 hours on Monday night, when she heard a loud crash before the front window smashed, and the wrecked car was left a few feet away from where she was sitting.
Police were called to the incident in Bridgnorth Drive in Clifton and have launched an investigation to locate the driver, who is reported to have fled the scene on foot after the crash.
Rhia, who usually sits in a chair in front of the window while watching TV, has described how ‘shocked’ she was by the ordeal.
The 24-year-old said: “I was winding down and watching the TV with the dog when all of a sudden the house shook and the TV was knocked to the floor.
“I didn’t know what to think and because of the shock I didn’t realise what had happened at the time. Once I got over the initial shock I realised that the front of my car was in my living room.
“I went outside and saw my neighbours had gathered around the front of my house. People told me that a man had run away from a car that he had used to crash into mine.
“I was told by police when they arrived that if I was sat where I usually sit to watch TV I’d have been in hospital critically injured or dead.”
When officers arrived at the scene it was established that the suspect had driven a Toyota Corolla that had been stolen from Ruddington Lane in Clifton on 27 July 2021.
Rhia, who is an office admin manager at the Queen’s Medical Centre campus, explained that her neighbours had heard a car screeching up and down the street and driving dangerously earlier that day.
She said: “My neighbours told me that someone had been driving recklessly earlier on and we put two and two together thinking that whoever crashed into my car must have been them.
“I just think whoever did this is careless. They’ve fled the scene not realising that they could have killed somebody.
“It could have been more than just me, what if a child was playing in the street or an elderly person was walking down the road? The fact that they have just upped and left is awful.
“It is traumatising that you can be sat in your living room then all of a sudden something like this can happen.”
Nottinghamshire Police is now appealing for anyone who may have any information on what happened to come forward.
Inspector Kate Savage, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“This dangerous and reckless act could have had far more serious consequences for Rhia.
“The fact that she was left unharmed is a miracle and I can only imagine how shaken she is by what has happened.
“We will be investigating this incident thoroughly with a view to putting the person responsible before the court at the earliest opportunity.
“Dangerous driving costs lives and it is totally unacceptable and cowardly that someone would do this and then run away.
“I’d urge anyone with any information to get in touch with Nottinghamshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 848 of 2 August 2021.”
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