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SALT LAKE CITY — Marty Schoenheiter was out a little late Saturday night.
And it's a good thing he was.
Just before 11 p.m., a man driving a stolen dump truck crashed through the front of Schoenheiter's home at 984 Prosperity Ave. The force of the impact collapsed the brick wall into the bedroom Schoenheiter had converted into a home office.
"That chair that's holding 300 pounds of bricks," he said, motioning to a pile of rubble, "that's more than likely where I would have been sitting had I been home."
Fortunately, Schoenheiter was visiting a friend and was out later than ususal.
That chair that's holding 300 pounds of bricks, that's more than likely where I would have been sitting had I been home.
–Marty Schoenheiter
Salt Lake City police say the large, white dump truck was stolen in Logan. The man suspected of stealing and joyriding in the truck left an identification card of some sort in the truck, police said.
Police are still looking for the man, who fled the scene on foot. Logan police say they want to interview the man in connection with the incident Saturday, as well as other property thefts in the Logan area.
Police say the dump truck was stolen from Spindler Construction, 901 S. U.S. 89-91. After being notified about the dump truck crashing into a Salt Lake City home, Logan police went to the construction yard to investigate.
They arrived to find the gate missing and fencing around the yard substantially damaged, said Jeff Curtis, Logan's assistant police chief.
Officers followed tire tracks out of the yard and discovered a semi truck pulling a flatbed heavy equipment hauler. The gate and fencing were tangled under the truck and trailer.
"We believe his intentions were just to take (the semi)," Curtis said. "After he couldn't clear the debris from between the truck and the trailer, we believe he went back into the yard a second time and took the dump truck that was later involved in the accident in the Salt Lake area."
Schoenheiter said he has lived in the home for 28 years. He's made arrangements to have the hole repaired, but until that work is complete, he'll have to stay somewhere else.
"These are the things that never happen to you; always somebody else," he said. "Last night was my somebody else day. They got me."
Email:jpage@ksl.com
