AN ELDERLY man says his wife is lucky to be alive after a driverless ute careered out-of-control and into the front of his house, where she was sitting.
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Neville White is counting the costs to his long-term East Tamworth home after the ute, fully-laden with a trailer, crashed into the front.
The accident happened in Gladys Street about 11am on Thursday, when Mr White had ducked out to the shops.
Mr White's, 73-year-old wife, Janette, who cannot walk or talk after a stroke and another accident several years ago, was seated in the sunroom at the time.
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"She was screaming," he said, adding she managed to message him there was 'man at house'.
Mr White scrambled to alert a neighbour who rushed over, and called police.
By the time Mr White got home, police and neighbours as well as the tradesmen - who were working in the street - were all on scene.
"She was traumatised. Luckily no one was hurt, but I'm just glad the ute stopped, and obviously it will need to have its breaks checked," he said.
It's believed there was some sort of failure with the ute in the street, and it rolled across the road, crashing into the home. The circumstance of the accident are still under investigation.
Mr White says a brick wall took some of the brunt of the out-of-control ute, from across the road, before a large, full pot plant stopped the undercarriage of the car, as it struck the sunroom.
"It's a hell of a mess," he said.
"They have cleaned it up and braced it, but now we have to sort it out with insurance because it shouldn't cost me money; it wasn't my fault, we did nothing wrong but I now have to pay a $500 excess and lose my no-claim bonus and be left out of pocket."
Investigations into the incident are continuing.