A hapless driver switched on his car engine to de-ice the windscreen – just for the hatchback to lurch backwards and smash into his neighbour’s garage because he’d left it in gear.
CCTV footage, that has gone viral on TikTok, shows Daniel Johnston, of Bingham, Nottingham, desperately trying to grab the controls as his Ford Fiesta reverses on January 12.
The 19-year-old was left in a ‘blind panic’ when the car crunched into his neighbour’s grey panelled garage – causing lb750 worth of damage.
Daniel Johnston, 19, of Bingham, Nottingham, turned on his hatchback’s engine therefore the heated windscreen would quickly pay off the ice before he drove to work on January 12
But the teenager remained in a ‘blind panic’ once the 2022 Ford Fiesta Zetec lurched backwards and crunched into his neighbour’s grey panelled garage – causing an eye-watering lb750 price of damage
CCTV footage from neighbour Nick Langstaff’s house – that has since gone viral on TikTok – shows Mr Johnston desperately attempting to grab the wheel as the car jolts backwards
Footage shows the 2022 Zetec only stopping if this smashes into the metal garage door, causing a loud crunch that sounds ‘like an explosion’ as parents around the school run try looking in shock from the pavement.
Mr Johnston then puts his hands on his head in disbelief before immediately knocking on his neighbour retired officer Nick Langstaff’s door to confess his blunder.
The 67-year-old, who lives with wife Jules Langstaff, had allowed Mr Johnston to park on his drive because his house next door doesn’t have just as much room.
Luckily Nick found it difficult to be angry at Mr Johnston because he’d done the same thing not too long ago – and admitted if it was him ‘he’d have legged it down the street’.
Mr Johnston, who was simply heading to work as an automobile salesman, said his vehicle doesn’t need a foot on the clutch to start its engine, so accidentally leaving the car in reverse using the handbrake not fully on meant it moved on its very own.
Mr Johnston said: ‘I got at the end of the night time before, so I should have place the car in reverse and turned the vehicle off straight after. It’s usually forever in neutral.
‘The car was iced up so I would turn my engine on after which go to the boot to obtain the de-icer and obviously when I turned the key it just reversed.
The car only stops if this smashes into the metal garage door causing a loud crunch that sounds ‘as an explosion’ as parents on the school run look in shock from the pavement
‘My handbrake was up although not fully secured. Usually if tips over you can push it out of gear, however i was too shocked to react and my hand stayed on my key.
‘I grabbed my controls however i didn’t know what I was attempting to do. It had been just blind panic also it was at the start of the morning and so i was tired.
‘The car was two metres inside the garage and that i just thought ‘what have I done?’. The bang seemed like a surge.
‘I had to go and knock [on Nick’s door] straight away, but when they answered i was told that ‘don’t worry we already know’.
‘These were very understanding and calm about this, I was grateful for that, they’re nice people.
‘I knew I’d have to pay up. You have savings for a reason, I guess. I’m likely to park on the roads since i don’t need to be around the driveway.
The car salesman said his vehicle doesn’t require a foot on the clutch to start its engine, so accidentally leaving the car backwards using the handbrake not fully on meant it managed to move on its own
‘Irrrve never start my car [when I’m] outside and ensure it’s in neutral. I move the apparatus stick left to right, left to right.’
Mr Johnston’s bumper was scammed within the incident and he was left with a dent in the side of the car, but luckily he had the lb400 price of damage fixed at his work with lb120.
Nick heard the crash from his kitchen while he was creating a brew and says he immediately knew what had happened.
The car even pushed wheels from a bike within the garage with the wall into Jules’ sewing room.
However, forgiving Nick, who had the door straightened on the day, understands the collision was any sort of accident and he’ll purchase the replacement until Mr Johnston has got the money to pay for him back.
Nick said: ‘We couldn’t get cross using the lad since the first thing he did was come right to the front door.
Mr Johnston has since posted the footage on TikTok, that has garnered over 2.8million views
‘I believe I’d have legged it down the street. Accidents happen. I was in the kitchen area creating a mug of coffee when I heard an excellent bang and I said, ‘exactly what the f**king hell is that’, then thought I knew the sounds from what I’d tried it myself.
‘It sounded like metal crumpling. Behind the garage door is my bike and also the wheel went straight with the inner wall, so that’ll need fixing too.
‘I can’t get in there to fix it since i can’t obtain the door open yet. His brother parks there now because he’s got an automatic and apparently that kind of thing can’t happen again.’
The regretful teen insists he’s learned his lesson and has sent a note to fellow drivers seeking to quickly de-ice their car on bitter mornings.
Mr Johnston added: ‘Always double check it’s in neutral or you’ll get this amazing bill to deal with.
He has since posted the footage on TikTok, which has garnered over 2.8million views, and captioned it: ‘I don’t think I’ll be parking on the neighbour’s drive again anytime soon’.
One viewer joked: ‘You can’t park that there mate.’
Another added: ‘This is why the insurance coverage for new drivers is so high.’
One other said: ‘Ffs u can easily see the devastation as he puts his hand on his head.’
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