September 30, 2010
By: Bruce Berry
A home in Centerville, Utah was severely damaged Wednesday when a flatbed truck ran off the road and slammed into it. Although the family living there was unhurt, the damage to the front room of the house was extensive.
Cheryl Hawkins, who was sitting in a rocking chair in that front room moments before the accident, told local news station KSL that "I just had this feeling, 'run.' And I did." Luckily for Hawkins, her vacating the rocking chair may have saved her life as the runaway flatbed hit the house at what its driver estimated to police was 40-45 miles per hour.
The driver, a 24-year-old male who was not identified by name, told police that he had had trouble shifting the flatbed from first to second gear. When he tried to slow down instead, the brakes had no effect. The emergency brake had the same result, the driver said. After the accident, Hawkins told KSL that he immediately got out of the truck, asking if everyone was all right.
According to KSL, Hawkins had also just finished refurbishing the room that the flatbed truck crashed into. No information was yet available about the house's home insurance claims status.
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