A late-evening crash in a quiet residential road has prompted a safety plea from householders who claim it is the second incident in a month at the location.
Headington homeowners were startled when a driver crashed a VW Golf into a parked Mercedes in Barton Fields Road at around 8.30pm on Friday (October 6).
The incident, which is under police investigation, left both vehicles with substantial damage.
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Dr Hua Gao was in his study room when the crash happened.
He said: “The car was literally inches away from hitting the house. Both cars' fronts were completely flattened. By pure luck no one was seriously injured.
“Our houses all have a study room in the front. I was working in our study room when the accident happened.
“I can't imagine what could have happened if it actually hit the wall with someone sitting inside... It could be fatal.”
Dr Gao said the “terrible accident” came just a month after another crash.
“Last month, a car sped across the pedestrian pavement, straight into the construction site, leaving a big hole in the fence,” he said.
“Thankfully no one was injured.
“Two accidents within a month. Clearly something needs changing before it's too late.”
Dr Gao and his neighbours have asked Oxford City Council to install speed bumps and safety barriers to stop cars from speeding on the road.
“We have seen too many cars speeding in front of our houses, although the road is meant to be a 20mph zone,” he said.
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“This is a residential area, with houses with no front gardens as a buffer in case of accidents, and children running around and pedestrians walking on the pavement.”
Thames Valley Police confirmed its officers had attended the incident on Friday evening and said an investigation into possible dangerous driving offences had been launched.
A spokesman said: “Officers were called to a crash in Barton Fields Road at around 8.30pm on Friday after a car collided with a parked Mercedes.
“No arrests have been made but officers dealt with a man who was driving without insurance.
“An investigation is ongoing into possible dangerous driving offences.”
Barton Fields Road is in Barton Park, a new 885-home development beside the A40 between Headington and Marston.
The development is a joint venture between the city council and land developer Grosvenor.
Barton Oxford Limited Liability Partnership, which is the appropriate body, said changes could not be made as the road had not yet been adopted by Oxfordshire County Council.
A spokesman said: "The issue of traffic calming measures was looked at when the Barton Park scheme was designed and Barton Fields Rd was specifically designed to passively slow cars through the introduction of the commercial and community squares, numerous speed bumps and raised tables.
"It has undergone a number of road safety audits as part of its design and adoption process, and the findings from those audits have been factored into the layout.
"Once the county council adopts the road, which we believe to be imminent, they may decide to add more signage and other speed calming features, however we cannot implement these as it will impact on that adoption process."
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