A wall is all that separated six children from injury after a freak accident resulted in their family car becoming wedged beside the house.
Mum Kathy Olafson was yesterday still in shock from the knowledge that her four children and two friends, aged six to 12 years, were just centimetres from harm.
The accident also left the Dapto single mother without a car and possibly a home.
The collision occurred at 7pm on Friday when a 28-year-old Koonawarra motorist lost control of his Ford Falcon utility as he was driving along a lane opposite the house.
Lake Illawarra police Inspector Steve Agius said the ute veered into the driveway of Ms Olafson's Mulda St address, the impact causing her parked Mitsubishi stationwagon to become airborne and land between her home and that of a neighbour.
"Both vehicles have become wedged between the two houses," Insp Agius said.
The male driver and his 32-year-old passenger from Penrose were trapped.
Rescue crews worked for 45 minutes to free the driver.
Both men were taken to Wollongong Hospital with neck injuries.
The driver was released on Saturday while his passenger remains in hospital.
Ms Olafson said her children - Laura, 12, Ashley, 10, Lachlan, 8, and Erica, 6 - and two friends who were visiting for a sleepover, were lucky not to have been hurt.
"The kids were in the living room, playing with the PlayStation," she said.
"Suddenly there was this horrendous sound, like a wind tunnel, and a terrible crash that shook the house. The kids started screaming - they were terrified.
"I went to the lounge room, there was just a shower of plaster with the kids huddled in the middle and I thought we'd had an earthquake.
"Then I went out the front door and saw what had happened."
Mrs Olafson said the impact of the accident had shifted her 40-year-old home, which she rents from her father, from its foundations while separating the roof from the cornice and walls.
"Half the house has cracks through it," she said.
"The cold has been coming in, making it almost impossible to keep the kids warm." An insurance assessor has told the family they can remain in the house, but must avoid the living room.
"We've also been told we'll have to move out while they fix the lounge room," Mrs Olafson said.
"The car is a write-off; it was the only thing I owned. It's just one more thing we didn't need."
A crane was used on Saturday to return the family car to the driveway.
The owner of the ute was fully insured.
"The kids are pretty shaken," Ms Olafson said.
"My son, especially, is still anxious about it all."
Insp Agius said charges had not been laid over the incident, although police inquiries were continuing.
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