Llewellyn and Sue-ann Venter: Rolleston couple recounts escape from car that crashed into their bedroom while they slept

A Canterbury couple believe it's a pure miracle they walked away without serious injury after a car smashed into their bedroom as they slept. 

Emergency services were called to Rolleston's Shillingford Boulevard around 3:40 early Saturday morning. 

The vehicle trapped Llewellyn Venter under a doorframe and pinned his wife Sue-ann under the wheel.   

He says the curtain saved their lives by shielding them from the debris. 

The pair sustained just cuts and bruises, while the driver was moderately injured. 

Llewellyn told Matt Heath and Tyler Adams there was an immense sound like a roll of thunder and a massive bang, before everything was just on top of them. 

“It was bricks and windows and everything, and, so then I started screaming and just digging myself out.”  

Sue-ann didn’t answer the first two times he called for her, but he spotted her legs sticking out from under the car that crashed into their bedroom. 

“Somehow I managed to push the car, or lift the car, out of the way, well, just, and grab my wife and just pull her out.” 

“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.”  

Suu-ann told Matt and Tyler that she’d never heard her husband scream like that before. 

“I didn’t know what was going on, because you couldn’t see anything.” 

“I really thought I was gonna die.” 

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from news Talk zed Be
follow this and our Wide Ranger podcasts now on iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
So, as you may have seen in the Herald of Rolliston,
couple feel lucky to be alive after a traumatic accidents
or a car catapult through their Canterbury home in the
early hours of the morning. Luanne Venor Frieda's wife, Sueanne
Venor from underneath the vehicle, crediting a curtain for protecting
them from the shrapnel. Llew Allen and Sue and join

(00:37):
us on the phone now afternoon, guys, how are you?

Speaker 3 (00:41):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (00:41):
Hi, not so bad?

Speaker 1 (00:43):
Well?

Speaker 5 (00:44):
What an incredible story and quite different experiences for both
of you, So let's get both angles. Lew Allen, can
you tell us the story from the start from your perspective.
You've gotten up to go to the bathroom. I understand.

Speaker 4 (00:56):
Yeah, So got up, went to the ballroom. I saw
it was about offs three on the clock. And when
I was done there, I got back into bed and
I just just got, you know, comfortable, and then I
heard this wire screeching and then just this roll of thunder.
It was immense sound, and it just grew louder and louder,

(01:19):
then a massive bang, and yeah, then just everything was
on top of us. It was bricks and windows and everything.
And so then I started screaming and just digging myself out.
So then when I got up finally out, it's just

(01:43):
lasted everywhere and it's dark. And I started screaming for
my wife, and she doesn't answer the first two times
that I call her, and I just see her leg
sticking out under this car that's in our bedroom, and
I don't know what happened there. It all just got
really fuzzy, and but somehow managed to push the call

(02:05):
loft the car out of the way. Well just and grew.
I have my wife and just pull it out, you know.
After she anstored me the third time, and I could
actually pinpoint where she was, and it was the scariest
thing I've ever experienced in my life.

Speaker 5 (02:21):
Be now, so Anne, let's hear it from your perspective.
You were asleep and then you woke up. I mean,
what was going through your mind? It would have been
hard to work out what had happened.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
I didn't even hear anything. I just heard screaming. The
way he was screaming, I've never heard him scream up
back before and pulling everything on top of you, and
there was curtain on me, and I didn't know what
was going on because you couldn't see anything. And I
just kept on telling him it's pushing on my stomach,

(02:53):
it's pushing, and he just said, can you get out?
And I said no, I can't, and just suddenly I
just feel the weights coming off my stomach and him
pulling me aside and we just read and I didn't
even feel any pain yet or it was crazy. I

(03:17):
really thought I was going to dry.

Speaker 5 (03:18):
Oh that's that is, I mean, understandable. And at what
point did you actually realize it was a car because
it sounds like it was just pandemonium at this stage.

Speaker 3 (03:29):
I ran outside and then I really can't even remember,
but I think I came back in and I went
down the passage and then I saw it was a car,
and then I went out to go see if the
driver was okay. They got him out. So it was
just very confusing. I can't really remember everything from trying

(03:51):
to well.

Speaker 5 (03:52):
We appreciate it. We're talking to Lluellen and Sue Anne,
who had a car fly through their bedroom wall in Roliston.
So you have got out and an amazing act of
heroism from you. Luill Allen. You found some kind of
superhuman strength to lift the car.

Speaker 4 (04:11):
Yeah. To be honest, I don't know how I did it.
I don't know what happened. All I know is I
had the coin in my one hand and my wife
on the other hand, and within a matter of seconds we.

Speaker 3 (04:22):
Were out of the room. Unreal.

Speaker 4 (04:25):
I don't know how. It just felt easy at that point,
but looking back at it, I when I look at
the pictures and even when I went back into the
room later on, I almost fainted just from thinking of
how the hell did I just how did I do it?
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
Yeah, and you mentioned that the curtain may have slowed
the car down even a little bit.

Speaker 5 (04:49):
Is that right?

Speaker 2 (04:49):
You think the curtain lucky? It was there to try
and deflect it someone.

Speaker 4 (04:55):
I think maybe the curtain was more of blocking the
shrapnel of all the black bricks and the glass that
flew through the room. At Some of the bricks were
actually lodged in to the opposite wall in our bedroom.
So the curtain saved us from all the small things,

(05:15):
you know, and I think we got we would have
got much much more damage. If it wasn't for the curtain,
it would have cut us up definitely.

Speaker 5 (05:25):
So now you're in a situation where you know, there's
the smoke's settling a little bit, and you have someone
in a car in your bedroom, so you run up
to talk to this person.

Speaker 4 (05:38):
Yeah, so when we got the kids, because after my wife,
the first thing we did is grab the kids. And
luckily there there was no there wasn't even a scratch
in their rooms. They were perfectly safe. So we grabbed them.
We get them outside and we bosting. We think of
as calling the police, but as we open the front door,

(06:01):
the whole of our street is out there in their damas,
some people with no clothes or no tea shirts, no socks,
no shoes. Everyone is just there and they are already
trying to, you know, to help us and get us
on our you know, just to see if we're all okay.
And then when I see again, when I got around

(06:24):
the corner to the outside where when I look again,
there they got the driver out of the car, and
I just walk up to him and I'm like, are
you okay? Is there anyone else in the car? That's
all I wanted to know, because you never know if
there was a child in the car or you know,
his wife or so. We were just so scared that

(06:46):
there was someone else in the car with him. And
the worst thing is that the first thing he told
me is he's so sorry, He's so sorry.

Speaker 3 (06:55):
And.

Speaker 4 (06:57):
You know, it was it was a tough morning, but
you know, we're all human, you know.

Speaker 5 (07:04):
Yes, So do you know how he managed to lose
control and go flying through your bedroom?

Speaker 2 (07:08):
More?

Speaker 4 (07:09):
We're not We're not too sure, but he was speeding.

Speaker 3 (07:15):
I think I heard him mention something about a cat
to the police. I don't know it was. I don't know.

Speaker 4 (07:22):
Yeah, maybe for a cat. But we know from what
the police have told us. He's the first courts appearance.
They charging him with drinking and driving, so that might
have been an influence on it. But you know, we
we don't really know the full story on his end.
We haven't had a chance to speak to him.

Speaker 5 (07:44):
Wow. So as you look back on it, I mean,
how are you feeling about it now? Because we're talking
millimeters away from a tragedy pretty much, aren't we.

Speaker 3 (07:56):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (07:56):
I was, I was angry. I'm not going to lie.
When I first got to terms and was taken to
hospital for her check and I was busy sorting the
kids out. I was really angry. I felt deep an
anger inside me. But the next day I woke up,
you know when I realized, look, everyone's safe and everyone

(08:20):
is you know that I've still got my family, you know,
I kind of gave him. Yeah, what happened?

Speaker 5 (08:28):
Well, mate, you would have to be an absolute saint
to not have experienced some anger after you you know,
you found a car on top of your wife because
someone's gone flying through through the window. But also incredible
that that quickly, you know, just overnight, you as a
person can move on and you know, find forgiveness that quickly.

Speaker 4 (08:52):
Yeah, No, it's Look, it was a life changing experience.
You know, I don't think calding a grudge would have
changed anything. Definitely.

Speaker 5 (09:02):
Well, I'll tell me one thing that's good that you
now can tick off the things that can potentially happen
to you the list, because no one is in a
situation where two cars fly through the window of their bedroom.
So you know you're say from that one now that
the odds are too small for that too.

Speaker 2 (09:18):
Happened again, Yeah, the statistically off favor No, yes, and
You mentioned the community of Rolliston in your neighbors, and
that's a beautiful thing about Roliston. You've managed to move
into a new place, is that right?

Speaker 4 (09:31):
Yes, with the help of the whole community and Bailey's
Canterbury Property and A one properties, they collaborated and we
found a house that standing open and clear and ready
to move in and it's and then we had a
couple of friends and and a lot of random people

(09:54):
just pitching in and helping us move and it went
so smooth and so quick. It's amazing. It's really we
have never experienced this type of family situation. It is
definitely like family. It's not just the community.

Speaker 5 (10:10):
That's that's fantastic. And the kids all right, obviously they
didn't get injured, but how are they dealing with the
whole car through the front of the house situation.

Speaker 3 (10:19):
Oh, they're doing they're doing okay. On Saturday they were
but upset and they actually saw how bad it actually was.
They were not having a good day, but going to
school and seeing their friends and the school's also have

(10:41):
been helping a lot, and all of them, well.

Speaker 5 (10:46):
That's that's so great to hear and look so pleased
that neither of you guys experienced a major injuries and
and good on you guys for how you're dealing with
the situation that it's quite quite hard to get my
head around what you've experienced. But thank you so much
for talking to us.

Speaker 2 (11:07):
Thank you very much, all the best guys. That is
Lou Allen and Suanne vena incredible story. You're listening to
news Talks EDB.

Speaker 1 (11:17):
For more from News Talks EDB, listen live on air
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio