An elderly couple feel unsafe in their own home after a fatal crash caused part of a house to collapse.
The driver of a car, a man in his 40s, died after crashing into a house on the corner of Croxteth Hall Lane and Deysbrook Lane in West Derby on Sunday, July 24. The man was named locally as Frank, with floral tributes left at the scene to a "one in a million" dad and "one of the best men to walk the earth."
Two residents are reported to have been inside the property at the time of the crash on Sunday, but they managed to escape unharmed. The ECHO understands the two men were upstairs in the house, which is owned by a developer and rented out as bedsits, at the time of the incident and were led to safety down a ladder from an upstairs window.
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Eileen and Len Davey, who live near the scene, were among the residents asked to leave their homes immediately after the crash due to safety concerns. Eileen told the ECHO: "We just heard the house vibrate and you could hear a thump.
"I said 'what's happened?' Within minutes the police were knocking saying 'you must come out' because it was dangerous. The car was embedded right into the house where the staircase was.
Len said: "If anyone was downstairs they would have been killed."
Eileen and Len stayed with a neighbour for the night and were allowed to return to their home the following day. The couple's gas and electricity was temporarily turned off following the crash, and they have discovered problems with their landline telephone.
The couple's daughter, who asked not to be named, said having a working landline is vital for her mum and dad and an engineer is yet to be sent out. Eileen has lived in the same house on Croxteth Hall Lane all her life, with Len also having lived there for 58 years.
During that time, the couple said the road has gone from being a country lane to a dangerous road, with drivers travelling at speeds well above the 30mph limit and jumping red lights.
Len said: "To tell you the truth we're getting so used to it now. There was a crash here just six weeks ago. You don't feel safe in your own home."
Back in January, the ECHO reported on an accident involving a car which crashed into the same building at the junction of Croxteth Hall Lane, Deysbrook Lane and Princess Drive after hitting another vehicle. Merseyside Police said at the time that it was not believed any serious injuries had resulted from the incident. It is understood no structural damage was caused to the building at that time.
One man, who lives near the junction and asked not to be named, said crashes regularly occur on both sides of the road. Just a few weeks ago, he said a man had to be cut from his car after smashing into a wall, which has been rebuilt three times.
The man said: "This house, they've been through the wall three times. One time me and my wife were watching telly and the car landed in the garden."
He believes part of the problem comes from the design of Princess Drive, which is not properly aligned with Croxteth Hall Lane, meaning the kerb on the corner sticks out. And with thousands of pedestrians walking past the junction everyday, the man said "It's an absolute miracle no one was killed on that kerb" during Sunday's incident.
ECHO readers have expressed similar concerns about the junction following the news last week. David Lyall said: "One dangerous junction this. The amount of times this building and wall facing have been hit is unreal.
Michelle Wright said: "The amount of cars that dodge those lights at mega speed is unreal."
Sarah Bethell said: "This is so sad… whatever has happened this is still an awful junction and too many accidents are happening here! Something needs to change, filter lights, crash barriers! RIP to the driver."
A spokesperson for Liverpool City Council told the ECHO traffic management officers will be meeting with officers from the Merseyside Police Roads Policing Unit on Croxteth Hall Lane and on Scotland Road, where a 19-year-old man also died on Sunday.
The council said officers will meet at both locations to understand the circumstances currently known around each fatal crash, and to determine whether there are any engineering measures which need to be considered.
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