The neighborhood has had enough now that yet another car rams into Olga and Aad’s house

“Indescribable,” Olga Bode-Nuis calls the enormous damage to her house in Tuinzigtlaan in Breda, after a motorist (23) drove into it on Monday evening. She and her husband Aad were just lying in bed when they heard a huge bang. And that was not the first time.

The accident happened at the intersection of Haagweg and Tuinzigtlaan. “There was a party in the city, with lots of music,” Olga says a day later. “It was ready at 11 o’clock sharp, so we thought we could go to sleep peacefully.” Until less than fifteen minutes later, the couple heard a huge crash.

“We really had a heart attack. And when we came downstairs, we saw a car in our house with two men screaming next to it. One wall had completely collapsed. It was one big havoc.” Firefighters worked late into the night to ensure that no more parts of the house collapsed.

The couple still had no power around three o’clock on Tuesday afternoon and this also applied to more houses in the street. “The meter cupboard was completely destroyed, causing a gas leak,” Olga explains. “We still have no power.”

Despite the enormous damage, Olga and Aad did not have to leave their house last night. But the couple didn’t sleep for more than two hours. “You won’t be left behind,” says Olga.

The sound of the blow was not unknown to her and her husband. Seven years ago a car also drove into their house: “Five meters to the right. Then it was also a big mess, terrible.”

A car has also driven into their neighbors’ home, while the neighbor across the street has already driven through the garden wall twice. And just three weeks ago a car knocked over a lamppost across the street. “It was only a small step before it hit our wall,” says Olga.

She previously went to the municipality to make it clear how dangerous the intersection of Haagweg and Tuinzigtlaan is. “Cars come from the city and on the straight they accelerate,” Olga describes. “They drive incredibly fast. At the end they miss the turn and then they go straight. It always goes pretty much the same way.”

The municipality did not see the problem at the time. “Because the intersection was not known to be dangerous,” says Olga. That didn’t sit well with her. “They didn’t even come and take a look. Ultimately they did and four posts were then placed. But that doesn’t help with this kind of violence.”

Several neighbors will visit Olga and Aad on Tuesday to encourage them. Some bring a bouquet of flowers. After the accident on Monday evening, the entire neighborhood is really full.

“We are a close-knit neighborhood and will jointly present a petition to the mayor,” says Olga. “We want to show that this situation cannot continue like this. I no longer feel safe. When the grandchildren come to stay, I don’t dare let them sleep downstairs. I hope that the municipality will quickly implement speed limiting measures.”