A Car Crashed Into My Neighbours Pool Last Night...
@RawBill1 (8531)
Gold Coast, Australia
September 11, 2010 8:49pm CST
And I did not hear a thing! There were fire trucks, ambulances, police, news crews, a massive crane and people from all over the street milling around the area and we all slept through the whole thing!
At 11:30pm last night a car crashed through the front fence of a house about ten doors down from me. They must have been driving fast as they completely missed the bend in the street, went through the fence took out a few small trees and shrubs and the pool fence, but completely cleared the tiled edge of the pool landing safely in the middle of the pool! The car was a small family van and must have travelled 15 t0 20 metres through the air and dropped about 3 or 4 metres into the pool. Amazingly, no one was hurt. 
These guys are friends of ours and I just got back from having a look at the damage. My friend said that he had fallen asleep watching TV and woke to the crash and splash. He quickly ran out the front and saw the car in his pool and jumped in and smashed a window to get the people out.
The car not only caused damage to the fences, plants and the pool, but the water that was displaced from the pool caused a tidal wave that took all of the mulch from their gardens and washed it down under their house. Their house is on sloping land so they have a huge garage and storage area under their house that is also a recreational area. They have furniture and carpeted areas under there and it is all full of mud at the moment! Hopefully their insurance will cover all of the damage. It is a bit of a mess! 
Have you ever slept through something major and missed all of the action?
At 11:30pm last night a car crashed through the front fence of a house about ten doors down from me. They must have been driving fast as they completely missed the bend in the street, went through the fence took out a few small trees and shrubs and the pool fence, but completely cleared the tiled edge of the pool landing safely in the middle of the pool! The car was a small family van and must have travelled 15 t0 20 metres through the air and dropped about 3 or 4 metres into the pool. Amazingly, no one was hurt.
These guys are friends of ours and I just got back from having a look at the damage. My friend said that he had fallen asleep watching TV and woke to the crash and splash. He quickly ran out the front and saw the car in his pool and jumped in and smashed a window to get the people out.
The car not only caused damage to the fences, plants and the pool, but the water that was displaced from the pool caused a tidal wave that took all of the mulch from their gardens and washed it down under their house. Their house is on sloping land so they have a huge garage and storage area under their house that is also a recreational area. They have furniture and carpeted areas under there and it is all full of mud at the moment! Hopefully their insurance will cover all of the damage. It is a bit of a mess!
Have you ever slept through something major and missed all of the action?6 people like this
21 responses
@ayumitakashi (4462)
• United States
12 Sep 10
Wow. I can't belive you slept through all of that. The good thing is that no one was hurt because it could have been worse. I probably would have woken up if I heard all that noise. If it was only one police car I probably would haave kept sleeping but it sounds to me like there was a lot of noise when this happened what with all the trucks and people around. I'm surprise you slept through all that racket. I kind of wish I could sleep like that so I can sleep better.
1 person likes this
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Sep 10
There was a huge crane that had to lift the car out of the pool and onto a tow truck in the street. This happened in daylight hours on Sunday morning and I still did not hear it even though I was awake. Maybe I heard it off in the distance and thought nothing of it? 
There are lots of people doing home renovations in the street at the moment, so I am used to hearing trucks and equipment moving around. It was very lucky that no one was hurt. It was a decent flight through the air for the car! 
There are lots of people doing home renovations in the street at the moment, so I am used to hearing trucks and equipment moving around. It was very lucky that no one was hurt. It was a decent flight through the air for the car! 
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Sep 10
It depends on the time of night. I am a sound sleeper early in the evening, but later around 3am and after, I will wake at the slightest noise. We even had our cats break a bowl in or bathroom last night as well. No one heard that, but there was a big mess in there this morning to prove that there must have been a crash! 
1 person likes this
@Shellyann36 (11384)
• United States
15 Nov 10
Well I am glad that no one was hurt. I do hope that the driver of the van had good insurance and I hope that your friends home/property is fixed by the insurance company! That must have been very scary for them. I know that the drainage problem needs to be fixed ASAP. I would hate to be in that situation. One of our friends had a home that was directly across from an intersection... well needless to say that they had their home hit twice. After the second time they moved and the home was tore down. Fortunately, no one was ever hurt but I know it was scary for them.
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
15 Nov 10
It would have been scary for sure. It was very lucky that no one was hurt. In a way, they are lucky that they had a pool in their front yard. Otherwise the car would have kept going right through the front of the house. There would have been injuries then!
They have had all the damage fixed now I think. If there is anything that has not been repaired I think it would be the pool glass fence surrounding the pool. They had their boundary fence fixed and painted a couple of weeks ago and the owners said that the pool fence was the last thing that needed doing.
@voldrox (7191)
• India
12 Sep 10
Hello Rawbill,
Wow, i wish i could sleep so well. LOL, no but i don't want to miss all the action hehe. I am a light sleeper and a simplest of things like the vibration of my phone can wake me up. Well, that was a terrible thing to happen. Luckily no one was hurt.
Well, the damage done will be taken care of soon but the best thing is no one was hurt in the accident. Nothing more left to hope for, except for speedy recovery of your neighbour's home!
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Sep 10
Hi Voldrox. 
I kind of wish that I had woken up so that I could have witnessed it instead of just the aftermath of it. There is a lot of damage, it is amazing how far the water spread from the pool. I could not believe it!
They were very lucky that no one was hurt. Imagine if it had been during the day when their children (and mine) were playing in the pool! 
I kind of wish that I had woken up so that I could have witnessed it instead of just the aftermath of it. There is a lot of damage, it is amazing how far the water spread from the pool. I could not believe it!
They were very lucky that no one was hurt. Imagine if it had been during the day when their children (and mine) were playing in the pool! 1 person likes this
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
13 Sep 10
There was a big van outside their house yesterday morning with 'disaster cleanup' written on the side of it. I am not sure if they were there to clean up or to quote for the insurance company. I will have to go down there today if I get time and see how they are going.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
12 Sep 10
I can't say I'm surprised that you slept through all that lot...once a Piscean is asleep that's it, they're virtually comatose lol.
My whole family (including me) slept through burglars ransacking the house downstairs..not once, but twice!!
My whole family (including me) slept through burglars ransacking the house downstairs..not once, but twice!!@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
13 Sep 10
You slept through Burglars! Wow, that must have been sickening to realise that when you discovered that someone could be in your home without you realising!
I do not always sleep heavily. I tend to sleep really heavy in the first few hours that I am asleep but from around 2 or 3am onwards I sleep lightly. I certainly did not sleep through the phone ringing at 3am this morning! 
I hardly slept after that.
I do not always sleep heavily. I tend to sleep really heavy in the first few hours that I am asleep but from around 2 or 3am onwards I sleep lightly. I certainly did not sleep through the phone ringing at 3am this morning!
I hardly slept after that. @Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
13 Sep 10
That must've been so frustrating, the phone going off, especially at that time! Was it someone on the other side of the world by any chance (as in the Time Zones being different)..as for the burglars, they got in at the back of the house and I slept in one of the back bedrooms, Mum the other one, so God knows how neither of us DIDN'T hear anything. Then, 6 months later (after the stuff was replaced) they struck again in exactly the same manner. Amazingly (because Mum rarely puts claims in) the insurers paid up the second time as well. If it had been in this current financial climate I don't think they would've done.
No-one has burgled the house for 10 years since then. It might have something to do with the burglar alarm that doesn't always work (but don't tell anybody) lol.
Then, 6 months later (after the stuff was replaced) they struck again in exactly the same manner. Amazingly (because Mum rarely puts claims in) the insurers paid up the second time as well. If it had been in this current financial climate I don't think they would've done.
No-one has burgled the house for 10 years since then. It might have something to do with the burglar alarm that doesn't always work (but don't tell anybody) lol.@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
15 Sep 10
I think professional burglars keep track of the houses that they have hit and then do revisit them six months later when most items have been replaced. As a lot of people have new for old policies, they then are assured of getting new items. This is what I have heard anyway, not sure how true it is.
I think that it was probably from the USA. We deal with companies in the USA all the time and are currently putting together a shipment of stock from suppliers over there. We have had calls in the middle of the night from the USA before. For some reason, a lot of people in the USA think that the whole world runs on the same time zone as them!
My thoughts at the time were that it was probably a USA call, but if they rang back then I would assume family emergency and get up and answer it. So I lay awake thinking about this and waiting for a second call. 
My thoughts at the time were that it was probably a USA call, but if they rang back then I would assume family emergency and get up and answer it. So I lay awake thinking about this and waiting for a second call. 
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
12 Sep 10
Oh my goodness, how could you not hear all that racket. I mean you must have been so tired that thunder or perhaps a fire could not wake you up. Please check all your smoke detectors to make sure they are in working order. Matter a fact make sure you have so many that your neighbors get so annoyed by them they shake down your house. As I am afraid you would burn to a crisp and would not even feel the burning sensation. 
All in fun, but no I am such a light sleeper that I think a fly minding it's buzzing sound would wake me in an instant.
All in fun, but no I am such a light sleeper that I think a fly minding it's buzzing sound would wake me in an instant.
1 person likes this
@ShepherdSpy (8544)
• Omagh, Northern Ireland
12 Sep 10
Living and working in Northern Ireland in the 70's and '80s during "The Troubles",Soldiers on the streets and Bomb alerts were common occurrences..Living in a shared house,I learned later one day there had been a Bomb alert near the end of our street..but the guy in the ground floor flat wouldn't open the front door when the security personnel were going door to door to get residents to evacuate,and didn't bother alerting everyone else,either! Thankfully,it turned out to be a Hoax...
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
13 Sep 10
WOW! That must have been really difficult living there during those times. I remember growing up hearing about the troubles there constantly on the news and we even learned about it in school!
It must have been quite scary for you.
You were lucky that it was only a hoax, or you might not be here to tell the tale today.
You were lucky that it was only a hoax, or you might not be here to tell the tale today. 
@cream97 (29087)
• United States
12 Sep 10
Hi, RawBill1. This is a very terrible accident that happened here! I am very glad that no one was seriously hurt at all! I wished that the driver was not driving so fast though. I am so sorry about the damaged to your friend's house. I hope that the insurance can cover the damages. I remember when Hurricane Hugo came to this town. My aunt had carpet in her trailer. All of the carpet got damaged by this bad storm. Being in an accident is very scary. Thank God that no one at all was hurt!
I am very glad that no one was seriously hurt at all! I wished that the driver was not driving so fast though. I am so sorry about the damaged to your friend's house. I hope that the insurance can cover the damages. I remember when Hurricane Hugo came to this town. My aunt had carpet in her trailer. All of the carpet got damaged by this bad storm. Being in an accident is very scary. Thank God that no one at all was hurt!@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
13 Sep 10
The only injuries were minor ones to the women in the car thankfully. Luckily the pool was there to stop them or the car would have hurtled into their house causing much more damage and a lot worse injuries. There are some photos of it here: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/glance/7960584/women-rescued-from-sinking-car
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
12 Sep 10
Good grief, bill, i wish i could sleep that sound, lol.I' glad wasn't anyone hurt & glad if it had to happen they landed in the pool instead of your neighbor's house. I bet it is one big mess. I hope their insurance will cover everything. Sounds to me as if the driver might have had one too many. Hope he's got good insurance. So many times when something happens the one doing the damage want have a penny of insurance. Here anyone driving is suppose to have insurance but so many times they don't. Good luck to your friends.
@Wizzywig (7847)
•
12 Sep 10
Glad to hear there were no injuries and I hope the insurance will cover the damage to your friends property - still a major inconvenience tho'.
I had a friends who used to fall asleep at discos when we were at college in the 70s but I've only slept thru the odd thunderstorm.
My husband slept thru a downgraded hurricane in Florida & has slept thru our sons coming home in the early hours after a few parties
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Sep 10
Hi Wizzy.
I hope that when my kids are older that I will be able to sleep through them coming home at all hours! I know that my dad used to know exactly the time that I came home! I tried to lie to him once but he told me the exact time that I came through the door!
It certainly is a major inconvenience. The weather is just starting to warm up and now we cannot use their pool! 
It certainly is a major inconvenience. The weather is just starting to warm up and now we cannot use their pool! 
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
12 Sep 10
Oh my! That sounds like quite the accident! It would be me that slept through every bit of it. I hven't slept through anything like that but I often sleep through terrible storms that wake everyone in the house up..lol..i hope their insurance covers everything too. Sounds like it will be very expensive to clean up.
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
13 Sep 10
Hi Jen, there are some pictures of the car in the pool here if you are interested. http://news.ninemsn.com.au/glance/7960584/women-rescued-from-sinking-car
It will be an expensive repair bill, but it would have been worse if the pool had not been there to stop the car as it must have been travelling pretty quickly to fly so far through the air!
That sound like my son. We often get really loud thunder storms here that shake the whole house. We all wake up except my son. He never has any idea about the loud storms in the morning!
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
13 Sep 10
I have a funny feeling that they had been drinking so their insurance will not have covered it. I am not sure on that though, but it seems odd that they would crash into the house seeing as the actually lived next door and new the bend in the street was there!
@tigeraunt (6326)
• Philippines
18 Sep 10
hello rawbill,
yes i have. we were renting before just beside my mom in law's house but the place was really a mess. so we decided to have it repaired to be deducted from the rent and the owner have agreed. the roof leaks everywhere. the day before was so hectic and stressful that i slept so deeply into the night.
early morning, my husband jumped out of bed and i heard him cursing and doing something. but i was just so tired i continued on sleeping. then i felt my feet got wet while i was on the bed. but realizing later, it was just the activity going on that made me wake up. the cables were sparking (probably because the rain of last night soaked the cables of electricity) and it probably grounded which caused the sparks and fire.
it was put off successfully without calling the firemen.
ann
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
20 Sep 10
Hi Ann. Wow, that could have been very bad. Electricity and water are not a very good mix!
You were perhaps very lucky that your husband was not as deep a sleeper as you were.
You were perhaps very lucky that your husband was not as deep a sleeper as you were. @randomusername (125)
• Canada
12 Sep 10
Heavy sleeper? lol
Wow this must of been an interesting experience for those who lived in the home with the pool ... Must be very problematic for them right now, i hope their insurance will cover for them ! Would you happen to know how the incident all happen? Why did the people crash into the pool? Was it a car problem or was it just them? I've never seen something like this happen before... Thanks for sharing
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
12 Sep 10
I've experienced some major stuff in my life but I have also missed some major events because it was my day off, or I was called into work or whatever. I have slept through several things here but also been awoken by things. I reckon it all balances out my friend. I think that (non) experience of yours wins this time. LOL.
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Sep 10
I sometimes wake for no reason at night, other nights, I sleep through anything! Last night I think I just needed the sleep. I must have been passed out heavily. I just saw the story on the Brisbane TEN news before. It was strange seeing people that we know and their front yard on the TV.
@coffeeshot (3783)
• Australia
12 Sep 10
Wow that would have been very scary for your neighbour! Luckily you slept through it hey. 
I too have a pool in my front yard and I have always wondered why cars always seem to find their way into pools when they crash into people's yards! I am very glad that no one was hurt, even though the house took a bit of damage.
I don't recall ever sleeping through anything major but it does bring to mind one Easter's eve when I woke up during the night and mum and dad were awake. They told me that the easter bunny just came and I missed him! I was so angry that they didn't wake me up so I could meet Mr Easter Bunny..
I am a pretty heavy sleeper though so I wouldn't be surprised if I did sleep something major like that
I too have a pool in my front yard and I have always wondered why cars always seem to find their way into pools when they crash into people's yards! I am very glad that no one was hurt, even though the house took a bit of damage.
I don't recall ever sleeping through anything major but it does bring to mind one Easter's eve when I woke up during the night and mum and dad were awake. They told me that the easter bunny just came and I missed him! I was so angry that they didn't wake me up so I could meet Mr Easter Bunny..
I am a pretty heavy sleeper though so I wouldn't be surprised if I did sleep something major like that
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Sep 10
I was wondering the same thing myself about why cars have this magnetic attraction to swimming pools when they crash into peoples yards!
The funny thing is that it was the people who lived next door to them who crashed into their yard! So it is not like they should have been surprised by the corner!
That is a shame that you did not get to meet the Easter Bunny. I hear that he is a lovely rabbit!
The funny thing is that it was the people who lived next door to them who crashed into their yard! So it is not like they should have been surprised by the corner!
That is a shame that you did not get to meet the Easter Bunny. I hear that he is a lovely rabbit! 
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
12 Sep 10
I slept though the 1987 "hurricane" here and when I woke up there was a tree across the road. Must have come down in the night and I didn't hear a thing. Thinking of swimming pools. A friend of mine built a house in the South of France. He landscaped the garden, mostly it was lawn. One night there was a huge rainstorm and when he woke up his lawn had vanished. His neighbour down the hill then appeared saying that his swimming pool had disappeared but that he'd gained a lawn...LOL.
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Sep 10
I bet you thought you had woken up to a strange new landscape seeing the tree, but no storm! Most people here that lose new lawns, lose them to thieves! If it is freshly laid turf that is!
It is amazing what we can sleep through at times. There must have been a loud crash in our bathroom last night too as there was a shattered bowl in there this morning. Cats! It was amazing that none of us heard that either!
It is amazing what we can sleep through at times. There must have been a loud crash in our bathroom last night too as there was a shattered bowl in there this morning. Cats! It was amazing that none of us heard that either! 
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
12 Sep 10
hi rawbill wow you slept through all of that, you were probably really tired.I can just imagine what your friends thought when all that muck
flooded their recreational area. Hope their insurance covers all that
damage. I wonder if they can collect anything from the family that tore
through their yard and landed in their swimming pool. I have overslept several times and woke up to people asking me if I felt the earthquake that night, and I really did not. Usually though if I am awake I can always feel even the lighted tremor and we have had some fours an d fives that really scare a person even though I am used to them. I think here in Ca we all of us know we could have a big one any day but I sure do not dwell on it. good luck and God bless.
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Sep 10
Hi Hatley, yes hopefully the insurance will cover the damage. It was amazing how far the water travelled from the pool.
Wow, sleeping through earth tremors! I think that would wake me up as I have never experienced an earth quake. There may have been very light tremors where I grew up as a child, as there was a small fault line in the area, but I do not remember them. There was a larger one in that region a few years ago, but I do not live there anymore. My mother said that she felt it though.
With all of the natural disasters that seem to be happening in recent years, I guess it is only a matter of time before California gets hit by another big one!
Wow, sleeping through earth tremors! I think that would wake me up as I have never experienced an earth quake. There may have been very light tremors where I grew up as a child, as there was a small fault line in the area, but I do not remember them. There was a larger one in that region a few years ago, but I do not live there anymore. My mother said that she felt it though.
With all of the natural disasters that seem to be happening in recent years, I guess it is only a matter of time before California gets hit by another big one! 
@paula27661 (15811)
• Australia
12 Sep 10
You sound like my husband; he would sleep through anything! Our house alarm went off in the middle of the night once and he didn’t wake up! Fortunately there wasn’t a burglar in the house…Nothing like having a big strong man to take care of a lady...I had to yell in his ear for him to wake up for ages before he stirred!
What an awful mess your neighbours are left with! The positives are the no one was injured and that they have insurance!
What an awful mess your neighbours are left with! The positives are the no one was injured and that they have insurance!
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Sep 10
It certainly was a mess. There is a photo of it here.
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2010/09/12/254901_gold-coast-news.html
Unfortunately there is not one of the car in the pool at this stage, but the media did take one as I saw a copy of it this morning. I will keep googling it for updated stories. Watch the news tonight. It may be on as one of those 'only on the weekend' type short stories!
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
12 Sep 10
It certainly would! something to tell your grand kids about anyway!
