Driver opens a beer after hitting house

A mother watched in disbelief as a car ploughed into the side of her house near where her children had been playing and the driver then cracked open a beer.

Vicky Johnson said the woman driver appeared to lose control on a corner in the Napier suburb of Maraenui about 6.30pm on Wednesday. The car then spun before hitting the living room wall of her home.

Ms Johnson, who lives in a Housing New Zealand house, was sitting outside when she saw the driver crash.

"I asked if she was OK. She said, `Yeah,' then cracked open a bottle of Tui. It was right in front of all the kids, too. It was unbelievable.

"So I just went inside and made suremy [six-month-old] baby was OK. Then I dialled 111."

A group of about 10 children, including Ms Johnson's son Shakur, 7, and daughter Sheena, 8, had been playing on the lawn moments before the car crossed it.

"The kids had just left. My daughter had just crossed the road and my son had just walked down the street. The kids round here always play there.

"It was scary all right. I saw her hit the kerb, then spin out and come right at the house. My heart was just racing."

The car, a mid-90s model Holden Commodore, was badly damaged. The brick wall around Ms Johnson's living room window was cracked in several places by the impact.

A 40-year-old Napier woman has been charged with drink-driving and careless driving and is due to appear in Napier District Court next month.