Premier League star Michail Antonio crashed his £210,000 Lamborghini into a garden wall when the snowman costume he was wearing fell over his eyes, it was claimed today.
The West Ham forward lost control of the supercar and collided with a bin shed outside a family’s house in Balham, south London as they sat down for their Christmas dinner.
The striker, dressed as a snowman when his Lamborghini Huracan came off the road at 6.30pm on Wednesday, was said to have told a witness that his costume had obscured his vision.
Antonio, who was videoed clambering out of the wreckage moments after impact, was unhurt in the crash along with a female passenger. There is no suggestion he had been drinking and police have not launched an investigation into the cause.
Witness Nosheen Saher, 36, lives in an apartment directly above the brick shed Antonio smashed into with her three children.
She said: ‘He told me he was ‘absolutely fine.
‘When I asked him what had happened, he said that his costume had fallen in front of his eyes and then he crashed.’
Kia Olding, whose family own the house, told how they were about to tuck into their Christmas meal when he crashed, and returned to the dinner table just minutes later to carry on their celebrations.
She was pictured enjoying their festive feast moments after the footballer had left rubble and wreckage strewn across the front of their house. It has also been claimed that he left the scene without apologising.
Antonio was filmed clambering out of his supercar after the collision. It is claimed he told a witness that his costume had obscured his vision
The scene on Nightingale Lane in Balham today where West Ham striker Michail Antonio crashed his Lamborghini Huracan
The junction at the scene of the crash. The dismantled wall can be seen in the middle of the image
Photographs taken today show the debris still at the scene
Ms Saher added: ‘I was sat in my apartment when it happened. It was like an earthquake.
‘I looked out of the window and saw the car in the garden. It had completely knocked the tree down and demolished the brick shed.
‘I then saw the driver coming out from the window. He was with a woman, I think it was his partner.’
A picture Nosheen took shows the player on the roof of his Lamborghini with the snow man costume partially obstructing his vision.
She added: ‘I then started to take a video to show the damage to the housing association, but he told me to stop and walked towards the other side of the road.’
Ms Saher, a mental healthcare student, then saw who she believes were Antonio’s family arrive at the scene and break into tears.
The student added: ‘The family arrived and said ‘Oh Michail’ after realising it was his car. They looked like had all come from the same family party.
Witness Nosheen Saher, 36 (pictured) said Michail Antonio told her his costume had obscured his vision
Eye witness Jane Wonham said she witnessed the crash at 6.30pm on Christmas Day
Kia Olding was pictured enjoying their festive feast minutes after the footballer had left rubble and wreckage strewn across the front of their house in Balham, south London
‘They all started hugging each other and crying because they thought he had died. Then I pointed across the road to where he was stood with his partner and then they ran over to him and started hugging him.’
She added: ‘We had five kids with us there just half an hour before the crash. ‘I couldn’t sleep that night. If he had hit us we wouldn’t have been here. I’m 100 per cent sure.
‘He shouldn’t have been driving in that costume. You can see from the picture that the mask is coming in front of his eyes. There should be a law against it.’
The mum added: ‘My message to him is: ‘You are not the only person on the earth. We are all living here and we should be careful because the consequences are really bad. When you see horrible things like that is causes trauma.
It takes time to recover.’ She said she heard his family apologise for the damage.
West Ham attacker Michail Antonio crashed his car into the garden of a house in south London
The West Ham attacker ended up in a garden of a south London house after the crash
The striker was said to be telling someone on the phone to ‘stop calling me stupid’ after video filmed him clambering out of the car.
Another eyewitness who was driving back from a Christmas dinner with her daughter and son saw the £70,000-a-week player lose control of his supercar and said he ‘must have run the red lights.’
Jane Wonham, 68, who was driving her Mercedes A-Class, said: ‘I was coming up to the traffic lights which were on green and he shot right in front of me. So he must have drive through a red light.
‘It looked like he was going at least 50 miles per hour and completely lost control as he turned right at the crossroads.’
The 29-year-old was dressed as a snowman following club training in the morning
Antonio did not suffer any injuries from the collision and was fit to play 24 hours later
The mum-of-two, of Balham, south London, added: ‘I was angry, he could have hit us.
‘People were walking their dogs around. He was completely reckless.
‘My message to him is you were lucky that nobody, including yourself, got hurt.’
It is understood Antonio was on his way to the West Ham team hotel ahead of Thursday’s clash with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. He played the full 90 minutes the next day.
Kia Olding had her Christmas interrupted when Antonio crashed into her front garden. She said: ‘I just heard this massive bang and the whole house shook’
Kia, who told how she returned inside after the emergency services arrived on the scene 20 minutes later, told The Athletic: ‘I just heard this massive bang and the whole house shook.
‘There are two bin sheds out there and they’re both (made of) bricks, and they went everywhere. We thought the driver was going to be hurt really badly because it didn’t look good.’
Her mother added: ‘I put my arm around him (Antonio) because I was worried.
‘I called the police and I asked for all the services, ambulance and fire brigade, because my main concern was that it was petrol and everyone would have to get out of the house because a lot of smoke was coming from his car.
‘So I was fearing the worst like, ‘What if the car blows up?’
‘He (Antonio) was on the phone shouting to someone saying he was all right. He kept saying, ‘Don’t keep telling me I’m stupid’ to the person on the phone (and saying), ‘You should be asking me if I’m all right’. (It seemed like) the person on the phone kept having a go at him.’
Reports also suggested Antonio left without apologising — or confirming whether he would cover the damage to the bin sheds and front garden.
Sportsmail contacted Antonio’s representatives for comment on Thursday night.
It is understood that the forward will be taking care of any costs needed for repairs.
The incident occurred in Balham but no one was reported to be injured following it
Earlier on Christmas Day, Antonio had uploaded a photo on social media which showed him wearing a snowman outfit — with orange nose — after having trained with his West Ham team-mates on Christmas morning.
He also posted a video of him singing Walking In The Air, the popular song from the 1982 film The Snowman.
‘Michail AnSnownio Man! Merry Christmas everyone,’ the forward posted alongside the photo.
West Ham are not investigating the incident, neither are the police, who reportedly didn’t leave the scene until around 10pm on Christmas Day.
Antonio went on to feature in the Hammers’ 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park
The damaged Lamborghini was seen being lifted from the scene that night, with the bonnet open and dents visible near the passenger-side door.
A Metropolitan Police statement read: ‘Police were called to Nightingale Lane, Balham, at 18.36hrs on Wednesday, 25 December to reports of a car crashed into a garden.
‘Officers attended and a Lamborghini car was found at the scene. It was reported that it had left the road and crashed into a road sign and a garden wall.
The driver did not require hospital treatment. There were no other reported injuries. There is no police investigation.’
Antonio reportedly left the scene without apologising but will be covering the costs
The London Fire Brigade also confirmed they were called to the address.
Debris was still reportedly visible on Thursday afternoon as, across south London, West Ham’s difficult season took another turn for the worse at Selhurst Park. Defeat leaves Manuel Pellegrini’s side just a point above the relegation zone.
Antonio’s former team-mate Diafra Sakho crashed his Lamborghini into a garden wall in January 2016 after ‘driving like a lunatic’ when he smashed into another car.
Sakho apparently struck a Mini before ending up going through a garden wall in Hornchurch, Essex. He was described as a ‘rich boy with a toy he can’t control’ by the homeowner after the crash.