A woman who was sleeping in a bed narrowly escaped serious harm after a suspected impaired driver smashed into a Horne Lake Road home northwest of Qualicum Beach.
Police, fire crews and paramedics converged on the home, which is between the Inland Island Highway and the Old Island Highway, after getting the call shortly after 9 a.m. Monday.
The home’s owner, Dean Lambert, says he was having coffee at his kitchen table when the SUV driver lost control on a sharp corner near his home.
“We heard a bang through the fence. A big dust cloud and then into our spare bedroom with my daughter-in-law sleeping in there. (It) pushed the bed right across the room. Boards hit her on the head. She’s OK, thank God,” said Lambert.
Watch the report below:
Lambert said his daughter-in-law got a headache, but she did not go to the hospital after paramedics thoroughly checked her.
The responding Bow Horn fire chief said she was fortunate.
“Extremely, this could’ve gone a lot different today. It could’ve been a lot more tragic than it was,” said Mark Taylor.
But the collision into the home did not stop the suspected impaired driver.
‘She was in reverse leaving,’ witness says
Lambert said, “As soon as she hit the house, she was in reverse leaving.”
The SUV smashed through another section of Lambert’s fence before going through a ditch on the opposite side of the road. It came to a stop in an empty field.
The driver, believed to be in her mid-30s, was likely not able to see much through her extremely cracked windshield when she decided to walk back to the house and check on everyone.
“Another case of speeding, driving fast, and I think this driver was impaired,” said Lambert.
The fire chief says the department has responded to numerous crashes at this corner.
“We had a bus rollover here last year. We had a car into the ditch here last year, so it is a common problem area because of the sharp corner at the bottom of the steep hill,” said Taylor.
“This is a problem corner. We’ve probably seen 100 accidents at least in the last 30 years here,” said Lambert. “Everybody drives too fast, and suddenly, there’s a sharp corner at the bottom.”
Stuart McLean, a regional director with the Regional District of Nanaimo, says he’s raised concerns about the road with the province, but nothing has happened yet.
“The road needs to be widened. I think there needs to be more signage,” said Kathleen Carrigan, a neighbour.
“It’s such a blind corner. It’s scary for children. Children can’t walk around this corner.”
Members of the Lambert family say they saw empty beer cans in the vehicle, and the driver told them she was heading to a liquor store when the crash occurred.
Police confirmed they’re investigating a potential charge of driving while impaired.
READ ALSO: VicPD investigating after car crashes into house, driver flees scene
(CHEK News photo)
Kendall Hanson
