A drink driver left a woman thinking her house had been ‘bombed’ after his Audi ploughed against a wall at 75mph before erupting into a fireball.
Shocking footage of the impact shows the car hurtle down the road, skidding out of control before it explodes in a matter of seconds.
A bright white and orange light suddenly flashes as smoke is left billowing in the wake of the destruction in Powys, Wales.
Remarkably, David Pritchard, 36, whose licence had been revoked by the DVLA because of drug issues, was able to escape with his life as were two passengers.
But the full effect of the smash was later described by a local woman who said she thought her house had been ‘bombed’ before finding an engine on fire in her garden.
Pritchard badly injured his two friends when he lost control of the speeding car, leaving his female passenger in a critical condition, a court heard today.
Jailing him for four-and-a-half years, Judge Niclas Parry said to Pritchard: ‘You could have killed those two friends. You could have killed yourself.
‘The ball of fire as the car exploded is the image that sums up how incredibly lucky everybody was to survive with their lives.
‘But the fact remains two friends of yours were very seriously injured. Indeed 16 months after the collision, they are still unable to return to work and it’s because you were driving at high speed, influenced by alcohol following hours of drinking.’
Sentencing at Mold Crown Court, Judge Parry added: ‘People could have lost their lives.’
Jane Cooper told of how she had to temporarily close her hair salon Hairatage after the blue Audi A3 crashed into her home in the early hours of the morning.
She told the Powys County Times: ‘I actually thought somebody had bombed my house.
‘It was terrifying. I flung the window open and all I could see was fire and I thought my house was on fire. The impact shook the house.’
Prosecutor Catherine Elvin said the smash happened at 4.30am on the A470 at Carno, Powys, on September 10, 2023, where there was a 40mph limit at the village.
A wall was destroyed and a major emergency service response closed the A470 for 12 hours.
An emergency service spokesman said: ‘Two casualties were able to self-extricate from the front seats while crews had to extricate the third casualty from a rear seat using road traffic collision equipment including e-draulic cutters and spreaders, chocks and blocks, small gear and casualty care equipment.’
At court today, the prosecutor explained Pritchard, of Builth Wells, had been convicted of drink-driving.
Defence counsel Oliver King said Pritchard accepted doing 75mph. He admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving in an Audi.
A three-year driving ban will start on his release from prison, and he must pass an extended re-test before he can drive again.