When a runaway Toyota Granvia people mover crashed through the ranchsliders into the lounge of their Charles Court house on Monday night, the room was empty.
Warren Judkins told the Otago Daily Times yesterday that until 45 minutes before the crash, he and his family - wife Rhonda, mother Wiki (84) and children Amber (4) and Joshua (2) - were gathered there for their regular bible-reading and prayers.
Mr Judkins said when the vehicle hit, they were in the rear of their house sharing stories, songs and prayers with their children.
''Rhonda and I are both Christians and we always pray for God's protection over our family and our house.
''And I think we experienced that last night,'' he said.
The couple's children were almost asleep and he and Rhonda were about to return to the lounge when they heard the ''rushing'' sound of the people mover approaching.
''My first thought was, 'what is capable of making those noises on our street?'.''
Mr Judkins said because the vehicle entered the house through the ranchslider there was no noticeable impact, but the sound of the final crash led him to think ''it could be a car coming into our house''.
Senior Constable Sean Hurley, who attended the crash, said there could have been fatal consequences for anyone in the lounge at the time.
He did not know the driver, although he was a neighbour, but he looked ''pretty darned shaken'' and the family had a lot of concern for him.
''We would like to make it easier for him, rather than harder for him.
''We are very glad he is well and he doesn't have to worry about things that happened.''
Mr Judkins is a maths and physics teacher at Aspiring College but took yesterday off while he organised insurance and repairs.
Wanaka Constable Greg Nolet said the driver, who was in his 40s, had been in ''a lot of shock'' after the incident.
Alcohol was not a factor but tiredness and lack of food might have been.
The man's licence was suspended pending the results of medical tests, and Const Nolet said charges were being considered.
