A car accidentally slammed into the front of a house in Mouscron on Sunday morning, before knocking down and gravely injuring a cyclist, who had to be rushed to hospital, Belga News Agency reports.
The occupants of the home, whose front wall threatened to cave in, had to be evacuated, according to the fire service.
The Picardy Wallonia rescue services were informed on Sunday morning at 6.55 that a serious accident had occurred on the Herseaux Road at Dottignies, in the Mouscron area. Three ambulances, an extrication truck, beacon truck, command vehicle and a special truck used for shoring operations were sent to the scene.
For reasons yet to be determined by investigators, the motorist lost control of his car while driving in the Herseaux-Dottignies direction.
The vehicle bumped into an outdoor gas meter, then slammed into the front wall of a home before ending up on the cycle path, where it hit the cyclist, who was seriously injured and was admitted to a hospital in Mouscron.
The driver of the car had to be extricated from his vehicle. He was in shock and slightly injured.
The gas meter’s power supply was quickly cut by the firefighters, who then shored up the front of the building which, they reported, threatened to cave in. The building’s two occupants, who were evacuated, were taken in by relatives.
Lieutenant Luc Vandendorpe, who led the rescue operation, said at about 8.00 a.m. that the city of Mouscron would cordon off the area to avoid any mishaps in case the front of the building collapsed.
