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Car crash on residential Elgin street left children "petrified"


By Jonathan Clark

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The aftermath as a 59-year-old driver ploughed into two cars outside the Szabo's home on Bain Avenue.
The aftermath as a 59-year-old driver ploughed into two cars outside the Szabo's home on Bain Avenue.

A CAR crash on a quiet residential street in Elgin on Hogmanay left three young children "shaking and petrified".

The Szabo family, husband and wife Andras and Andrea and three children aged two, four and 10, were asleep in their home on Bain Avenue when, at 11.22pm, their family car and Andras' work van were ploughed into outside.

Mrs Szabo said her body shook due to the impact of the crash, which sent her husband's work van into the side of their house and knocked her car 50 yards down the street.

You can watch the terrifying collision, caught on camera by a neighbour's CCTV, below...

She said: "I went to bed at about 10.45pm and I was just dozing off when I could hear an engine revving and then suddenly the whole house, and my body, shook.

"I heard the car alarms and my eldest daughter came running in shouting 'mummy, mummy what happened?'

"All we could see from the front door was the van across path and I went to the window and could see the two cars. My car, which is usually parked on the kerb, was two houses down.

"It was carnage. I was in shock, crying and shaking.

"My four-year-old's whole body was trembling with fear. She was petrified, asking if our house was broken. We are very lucky that nobody was hurt.

"A neighbour had asked if we were going out at the bells to raise a toast. I just thank God that nobody was out then because the outcome might have been different."

The police were on the scene quickly, where a 59-year-old man was arrested in connection with the incident.

The 59-year-old driver of the vehicle ploughed into two cars outside the Szabo's home on Bain Avenue.
The 59-year-old driver of the vehicle ploughed into two cars outside the Szabo's home on Bain Avenue.
The 59-year-old driver of the vehicle ploughed into two cars outside the Szabo's home on Bain Avenue.
The 59-year-old driver of the vehicle ploughed into two cars outside the Szabo's home on Bain Avenue.

The council, worried about the precarious position the lamppost was left in, were also on the scene straight away.

Now, Andrea and her family have been left to deal with the aftermath of the terrifying incident.

She added: "The van must have hit the house as we noticed the next day that there is a crack in the top of the hall window and concrete missing.

"You feel like you should be safe in own home but the kids feel unsettled and on edge now.

"The last few nights my eldest has been scared to go to sleep as she keeps remembering what happened.

"The noise and the feeling of the house shaking won't leave me for a while.

"The van is still outside the house and I just want it moved because it's a constant reminder of what happened."


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