News Story #5

Runaway truck knocks out power, injures several

A runaway truck knocked out power in several cities yesterday when it plowed through a power pole, injuring several people, damaging five vehicles, and setting fire to a house it finally crashed into.

El Cerrito police Detective Sgt. Shawn Maples, among the first rescue workers to arrive at the scene, started digging through the debris after hearing cries coming from the burning truck and house. Spotting the driver lodged between the wheels of the truck, Maples pulled the man out with the help of two other police.

The truck had flipped on its side, and driver's legs were mangled and he couldn't move. Maples said, "We dragged him out in a heartbeat while the truck went up in flames. I just wanted to get him out of there."

Ruben Sharma, who lives on Moeser Lane across the street from the single-story home destroyed in the fire, was just about to head back to work around 1:30 when the crash occurred. He said, "First, I thought it was a major earthquake. This is unbelievable." His front yard was littered with bricks, broken glass, car parts, splintered wood and palm fronds.

A great deal of damage was done to a number of vehicles as well, with a Honda sedan hit by the truck left so crumpled that the driver was trapped inside. Rescue workers sliced into it, peeling back the roof to free the trapped driver.

An electrician's truck that had been parked on Moeser was knocked over to the next street, and a sport utility vehicle that apparently had a man and boy inside ended up stuck in some shrubbery beside the burning house.

The driver of the runaway truck, a San Jose man, broke both of his legs in the crash and was listed in serious but stable condition at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. His name was not released.