When Bobbie Hill went to bed on Thursday night, the last thing she expected was a car plummeting through the wall of her shop, Bobbie’s Baits, Balls and Bullets, at two o’clock in the morning.
The driver, only 17 years of age and on his Learner’s permit, had taken his parents car to go on a joyride with his friends.
They were racing each other when suddenly the driver lost control of his vehicle and went flying through Ms Hill’s tin fence, over her lawn, before embedding itself inside the store.
According to Ms Hill, it was a very traumatic event for her and her Jack Russell, who were alone at the time of the incident.
“I start shaking every time I talk about it… if you look at the photos, there were no tyre marks on the lawn, which means they were airborne when they through the garden, she she said.
“They hit the bedroom and pushed the wall of my room back about six inches and broke the beam holding the windows, which was right above where my head was… they also took out the main beam, which holds the roof up in the shop when they implanted themselves halfway through the shop, and they’ve also pushed the wall out on the other side.”
Mrs Hill said the boys escaped through the hatchback, which opened up right outside her bedroom window.
“The only way they could get out was to climb out the hatchback, and my bedroom was right beside it… all I could see were these lads climbing out the back of this car, and there was a lot of swearing; it was very, very scary,” she said.
“The young lad himself, I would like to give him credit because he stayed and took responsibility for his actions. There were about half a dozen, if not more, young lads there at the time, but they all took off.”
She is now left with the task of cleaning up the mess that was left behind and trying to cover the costs for all the repairs.
The community and her loved ones have rallied around her to show their support, with her sons immediately making the trip to Narrandera with their families when they heard the news.
Her sons, a carpenter and a bricklayer by trade, managed to remove the car and patch up the holes to secure her home again.
Community members, such as Glow Roller Disco owner Briana Bryon, have also offered to advertise her store’s products online through some videos as their own small way of helping out.
Ms Hill said she is happy the incident occurred in Narrandera, where everyone has been eager to support her.
“It’s one day at a time at the moment, but I’m very happy it happened in Narrandera because it is such a supportive town; they are so wonderful here,” she said.
“They have wrapped me up in their arms and cuddled me every time anyone sees me.”
She hopes to have the shop open again in a week or so, depending on how cleaning up the mess goes, and will be planning a sale which she hopes will be well supported by the community.
This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 7 March 2024.
