A young family has escaped serious injury after a car ploughed through a fence and into a house in Cringila.
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Police say a 21-year-old man was driving a silver Holden Cruze along Lake Avenue at 3.30am when it left the road and hit the main bedroom of the single-storey dwelling.
The Cruze narrowly missed a 24-year-old woman, 26-year-old man and their two-year-old daughter, who were asleep at the time.
While waiting for emergency services, the Cruze's engine bay caught fire and started to spread to the house.
"Initial calls had the vehicle on fire, and the fire catching alight to the house, and there were people in the car and in the house," Fire and Rescue NSW's duty commander Illawarra, Chad Wallace, said.
The house and neighbouring properties were evacuated and fire crews were able to bring the blaze under control within 30 minutes.
Both the man and woman were unharmed, while the two-year-old sustained minor injuries.
The driver was breath tested at the scene and returned a negative result.
He was arrested and conveyed to the Lake Illawarra Police Station where he was charged with driving whilst disqualified, drive in a manner dangerous to the public and negligent driving.
The man was granted conditional bail and will appear at the Port Kembla Local Court on Wednesday, September 25.
His 35-year-old male passenger was not hurt. Inquiries are continuing into the events leading up to the crash.
The road was closed for a few hours while emergency services attended the scene.
More to come.