A young family have been left shaken and angry after a hit-and-run driver wrote off their car before careening up the street and taking out a telegraph pole.
Sam Gravener was at home at around 11.30pm on Saturday when a driver in an Audi A4 collided with her partner James Doyle's Nissan Juke, which was parked outside their house in Borrowdale Drive in Norwich.
She rushed outside to find the car had crashed into a telegraph pole and finally come to rest in a neighbour's front garden around 60m up the road, after ploughing through a garden fence.
The driver fled the scene following the incident, to which two fire crews were also called. A Norfolk Police investigation to find the driver is ongoing.
Miss Gravener said Mr Doyle and their three children, aged five, three and 18 months, were asleep when the crash happened.
"There was an almighty boom, like an explosion going off. It woke James up and the dogs went crazy, so I went outside and our car was completely mangled," the 28-year-old said.
"I went to see the other car to see if anyone was hurt and it was empty. It looked like the driver had taken something out of the boot and run.
"Our car was completely destroyed. It does not look like the sort of thing you would find on a 20mph road.
"The police said it was the worst incident of its kind they had seen and so did the recovery driver, when he turned up at 3.30am.
"It was completely devastating and insane."
Due to a medical condition which can leave him fatigued and caring responsibilities towards his 75-year-old disabled mother, Mr Doyle said his car was essential to him.
The 37-year-old bought the Nissan Juke new and while the loss should be covered by insurance, he said it is unlikely he will be able to afford a like-for-like replacement.
Neighbours in Borrowdale Drive said many motorists using the road flouted the 20mph speed limit, with some using the road as a "rat run" or reaching speeds of up to 60mph.
Miss Gravener said: "Because there are no speed restriction methods people think it is OK to do that.
"If the driver had been at a different angle or direction, he could easily have gone into our children's bedroom at the front of the house."
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