Worried about the safety of her 8-year-old twin daughters, Edith Paulsen shooed them out of the room and went to investigate.
"I saw a car right by my front door," she said.
It had evidently hit the Musselburgh Rise house.
Mrs Paulsen said the front fence, trees and her vehicle parked beside the house were damaged in Saturday morning’s crash and the motorist was moving his car backwards and forwards.
In the meantime, the girls had alerted her husband, Tyrone Paulsen, to the commotion and he reached into the vehicle to take the keys.
It turned out the car had a keyless ignition system and Mr Paulsen also happened to recognise the driver, who was a friend.
"I could at least calm him down," Mr Paulsen said.
The couple believed the driver might have fallen asleep at the wheel.
Emergency services were called by their 16-year-old son.
Police said they responded about 7.45am on Saturday to a crash in Musselburgh. One person was injured.
An investigation would determine the full circumstances of the crash, a police spokeswoman said.
A Hato Hone St John spokeswoman said a patient with minor injuries was taken to Dunedin Hospital.
Firefighting crews from Dunedin City and Musselburgh stations also attended.
Mrs Paulsen said she was thankful the incident was not worse.
The house and her vehicle were insured and it was expected the vehicle might be written off.
Mrs Paulsen said the bedroom wall now had cracks outside and inside.
Builders are due at the house today anyway, because the couple were looking to renovate the bathroom.
They might now quote for some extra work.
