Car crashes through living room window

SHOCKED members of a Tyrone family had a “lucky escape” after a suspected drunk driver crashed through their living room window in what was believed to be a stolen car.

Majella McGlone, of Mill Cottages in Drumquin, was not home at the time of the collision at around 3am on Friday. However, her son, Glynn Humphrey, was in the bedroom at the back of the house.

Speaking in the aftermath of crash, which utterly destroyed part of the front facade of the house, both mother and son were still in shock.

“I was sleeping,” Glynn explained. “The blue car came in through the window. I just heard it…

“It was like a heavy crash and debris falling. Then the smoke alarms went off. It wasn’t a nice way to be woken up.”

He continued, “I went out through the living room door to see if he (the driver) was all right. He was still in the car at this time. I went to put a coat on and I opened the door and walked out. He was putting a mask on, a face covering. He pulled his hood up and with no worries in the world… started walking towards Omagh. That was the last I seen of the driver.”

Glynn then rang his mother, who at the time was staying with a friend in Castlederg. She then rushed home to find the car parked in her living room.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Ms McGlone remarked. “I thought maybe he (Glynn) was exaggerating it a wee bit. But when I saw the car parked in there… There was a good quarter of the vehicle inside the sitting room.”

The local lady suggested that, despite the wreckage, that it was only fortunate no-one was in the room at the time.

“It was a lucky escape…” she said. “The night before I was lying on the sofa.

“If it had been earlier in the evening we’d have been sitting in there. My son (Scott), who has special needs, he always sits here at the two-seater at the window.

“He (the driver) came at such a speed; he didn’t break at all, that’s what the police were saying. There were no brake marks.

“Part of the front of the house is actually sitting on the sofa at the back wall.”

The car itself was removed from the room on Friday morning, although parts of the blue vehicle remained among the wreckage.

Workers from the Rural Housing Association, who own the house, also installed scaffolding to ensure the building was safe and secure as work began to clear away the rubble.

However Ms McGlone, who has lived in the property for the past three years, also admitted that she will find it difficult to feel safe in the house in the future.

“I put a lot of time and decoration into the house, it’s my pride and joy,” she added.

“It’s just a nightmare.”

In the wake of the incident, the PSNI confirmed a 29-year-old man had been charged.

“Police investigating a report that a car had crashed into a house in the Mill Cottages area of Drumquin in the early hours of Friday 6th January, have charged a 29-year-old man to court,” a spokesperson for the PSNI said.

“He was charged with offences including burglary, aggravated vehicle taking causing damage to property, using a motor vehicle without insurance, driving whilst disqualified, criminal damage, resisting police, and driving with excess alcohol in breath.”

Police also appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Sergeant Stainton added, “Our enquiries are underway and we are keen to speak to anyone who was in the area at the time, or who may have captured anything suspicious on dash-cam or CCTV footage, to make contact with police on 101 quoting reference number 133 of 06/01/23.”

You can also submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/ or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/