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CENTERVILLE -- A Centerville family had a close call Wednesday afternoon when a truck came barreling into their home.
The good news is nobody was hurt, because this could have been a tragic disaster. Instead, just the house has damage -- that truck went right into the living room.
The driver said he had no brakes.
Afternoons in the Centerville neighborhood are usually pretty quiet. Just ask resident Cheryl Hawkins.
"I was sitting in the front room in my rocking chair," she said of this particular afternoon.
But for some reason, something told her to get out of the way.
"I just had this feeling, ‘Run,'" she said. "And I did."
It's a good thing. A few seconds later a truck came crashing into her front room, sending wood, bricks and debris everywhere.
"The chair I was sitting in is fine, but right there, everything from there on is just gone," Hawkins said, gesturing to her demolished living room.
The 24-year old driver of the truck told police he was shifting into second gear but couldn't get the gear into place. When he pushed the brakes to stop, nothing happened.
He tried the emergency brake. Again, nothing happened, so he just braced for impact.
"He estimated his speeds somewhere between 40 to 45 miles an hour," said Neal Worsley with the Centerville Police Department.
"I thought it was kind of an earthquake," said Sadie Hawkins, who lived in the home. "Then it stopped, and I realized it wasn't an earthquake."
Fortunately, no one was hurt. In fact, Cheryl Hawkins says she feels bad for the driver. Right away, he got out of the truck and asked if everybody was OK.
"He said, ‘I'm sorry, the brakes went out. I tried to stop, I tried to stop it. I just couldn't get it to stop,'" Cheryl Hawkins said. "I feel sorry for him."
In a twist of irony, Cheryl Hawkins says she had just finished refurbishing her front room. The family can't stay home now, but they do have offers from friends and family to stay at their places.
E-mail: acabrero@ksl.com
