In the early hours of Saturday morning, Tom and Vanessa David were jolted awake by a car ploughing through a fence and into their neighbour's house.
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The Cringila couple acted quickly to try to help.
"We were in bed, and we just heard a loud crashing noise for a while," Mr David said.
"I rushed out here, saw the car through there, and I thought there'd be somebody trapped in the vehicle, so my wife ran in and rang triple-zero.
"A light started in the car, like a fire started, so I grabbed the hose quickly and tried to put it out until the fire brigade came.
"It just got out of control, the fire."
Police say a 21-year-old man was driving a silver Holden Cruze along Lake Avenue at 3.30am on Saturday, 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.
The house and neighbouring properties were evacuated and fire crews were able to bring the blaze under control within 30 minutes.
The young mother, Ainsley Lennard, was left shaken by the incident.
"I woke up and it was a really loud bang... I thought we were being bombed," she told Nine News.
"I stood up and everything was on top of her, and I just searched through everything for her.
"I found her and I just dragged her out, just picked her up and she sort of just looked at me."
The David's residence also sustained damage, which Mr David surveyed several hours after the incident when he spoke to the Mercury.
He said it was "disappointing", but noted "they're only small things compared to... That's what you cover insurance for".
"My main issue was my neighbours; his daughter and her (being) trapped, might have been trapped on the property," Mr David said.
"I've spoken with them, they all seem fine... Thankfully no one was injured."
"It's been a long night," Mrs David said.
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 while 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.
Chief Inspector Brian Pedersen from Lake Illawarra Police District said as the driver was rounding a sweeping left-hand curve, he lost control of the vehicle, went on to the incorrect side of the road, mounted the footpath, entered the yard of the house, and struck the front bedroom.
"Inside the bedroom at the time there was a male, female and a small child - luckily nobody was seriously injured... or killed," he said.
Insp Pedersen said police were still ascertaining factors such as the driver's speed and manner at the time of the incident.
"Speed is one avenue that we are looking at," he said.
"Alcohol was not a factor in this incident."
The road was closed for a few hours while emergency services attended the scene.