Man took brother's car and 'accidentally' reversed it into Sheffield home - causing £68k of damage

Ovidiu Kondor caused the accident after he took the keys to his brother’s new Volvo, hoping to use it to ‘go for a drive,’ Sheffield Crown Court heard.

Prosecution barrister, Melissa Morton, said Kondor’s brother had not given him permission to use the vehicle, and Kondor let himself into it while it was parked near to the property they share in Malton Street, Pitsmoor, at around 11.15pm on February 18 last year.

Ms Morton described how Kondor, 34, ‘mistakenly’ reversed the vehicle, when he believed he was accelerating in first gear, causing him to crash straight into the property of a neighbour across the road. “She (the occupier) had been walking into the kitchen, when she heard a loud bang, which stopped her in her tracks. Seconds later, the vehicle collided with the kitchen window,” Ms Morton said. Kondor’s brother was in bed when Kondor took his car keys. Upon hearing noise from the crash, he ran into the street, and found his brother in the driver’s seat of his crashed Volvo.

Ms Morton said Kondor’s brother told him to wait while he went into their neighbour's property to check if there was anyone injured inside.

Kondor initially fled the scene instead, but returned a short time later, while police were still in attendance. He was arrested the same evening.

The court heard how the occupier of the house managed to escape the crash uninjured, but the impact caused ‘severe structural damage,’ and subsequent repairs cost £40,128 to complete.

The occupier was insured, but she still had to pay £7,500 towards the repairs, including a £200 excess, the court heard.

In a statement read out in court, the woman described how she continued to ‘relive’ the incident every time she closed her eyes.

“It’s not only the main structure of the house that has been affected, a lot of sentimental items have also been lost,” she said.

The victim added that she had been staying with her son while the repair work was carried out; and had been ‘struggling to get up the stairs’ following a hip operation, something which would not have been an issue in her ‘own home’.

The cost of the damage caused to the Volvo was estimated to be £28,397.

Kondor pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated vehicle taking and damage of property exceeding £5,000 at an earlier hearing.

Defending, Chris Aspinall, said Kondor was of ‘good character,’ and asked for Tuesday’s sentencing hearing to be adjourned to allow for the preparation of psychiatric and pre-sentence reports.

Judge David Dixon agreed to postpone the hearing until April 1, but told Kondor: “This is serious, and the court will be considering whether a prison sentence is to be imposed.”