A teenage driver smashed his BMW into a Kirkcaldy house and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.
Norman Young fled the scene after crashing the BMW X5 into a property in Clarimalt Drive on April 25 2022.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard engineers had to turn off electricity on the street to remove the vehicle.
Young, 20, of Dunsire Street, Kirkcaldy, appeared in the dock this week to plead guilty to dangerous driving and failing to stop and report the collision.
‘Gas explosion’ crash
Prosecutor Ronnie Hay told the court the occupant lived at the property with three children but was at her mother’s address at the time of the crash.
At around 8.30am a neighbour had just returned home and about 30 seconds later heard a “loud bang,” the fiscal said.
“She thought it was a gas explosion.
“She looked out the door and saw a car crashed in to the wall of the adjoining property.
“She saw a male get out of the vehicle.”
Other neighbours were out on the street and police received multiple calls about the collision.
Mr Hay said other neighbours heard the bang and saw two young males running from the car in the direction of Kidd Street.
The female resident of the damaged property, Sharon Herd, was told what had happened by a neighbour.
She could not get inside due to collapsed stairs blocking the front door.
Ms Herd later told The Courier she was lucky she and her three children were at her mother’s house at the time.
She said: “I can’t believe it’s happened and it’s so lucky that nobody has been seriously injured or worse.
“Normally we’d be getting ready to leave for school around the time of the crash so I dread to think what may have happened if we had been here.”
Police carried out a street search and door-to-door enquiries and Ring doorbell footage was taken from Clarimalt Drive and Kidd Street.
Officers found a “large number of empty alcohol bottles” in the car, which had its airbags deployed, the fiscal said.
Families rehomed
A structural engineer was requested and council housing bosses attended as the properties belonged to Fife Council.
Families in two properties were rehomed.
The court heard the car had struck an electrical box and engineers arrived the next day to make electricity in the street safe.
The fiscal depute said when the vehicle was removed, the electricity for the whole street had to be turned off.
On April 27 the car was forensically examined and Young’s DNA and blood were found inside.
The fiscal depute said repairs to the building were estimated to exceed £22,000.
Ring doorbell footage showed the vehicle driving at speed along Kidd Street, hitting a house and both Young and a witness running back down the street.
Police learned from its seller the car had been bought by Young.
Mitigation reserved
Defence lawyer David Bell said Young, who was 18 at the time has a troubled background but would provide more mitigation at his client’s sentencing hearing in September.
Sheriff Robert More bailed Young but banned him from driving meantime, noting he has a “pretty bad history” of driving.
The sheriff added: “Obviously this was a pretty major event for the whole street”.
He said Young and the passenger were lucky to escape unhurt.
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