Runaway Truck
At around 1:30 p.m. yesterday a runaway truck smashed into a home on Moeser Lane in El Cerrito after doing massive damage along its path and knocking out power not only in El Cerrito, but also Berkeley and Richmond.
El Cerrito Detective Sgt. Shawn Maples was one of the first rescuers on the scene. When he arrived he saw an overturned 10-wheeled asphalt truck protruding from a single-story home. The home was engulfed in flames. He heard screams coming from under the debris near the collision site, and after some digging erected the driver of the vehicle. The driver’s legs were all mangled making movement on his own impossible. “We dragged him out in a heartbeat while the truck went up in flames. I just wanted to get him out of there,” Detective Sgt. Shawn Maples said.
While it was careening down Maples street, the truck sent a parked electrician’s vehicle soaring onto Richmond Street and entangled a sport utility vehicle in some shrubbery near the burning house. The vehicle had a man and a boy inside.
A Honda in the path of the truck was so severely damaged, rescuers needed the Jaws of Life to fetch the driver from the vehicle. A sport utility vehicle became entangled in some shrubbery near the burning house as well, with a boy and a man inside.
Ruben Sharma, who lives across the street from the collision site said, “First, I thought it was a major earthquake. This is unbelievable.” His front yard depicted the aftermath of the crash, with broken glass, car parts, bricks, and splintered wood thrown about all over the place.
The driver of the asphalt truck, a San Jose man, is listed in serious but stable condition at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. Both of his legs were broken in the crash.
No other injuries have been reported.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Whoa...what have I been telling you about not starting a lead with the "when" or "where"? Better fix that. Otherwise, your lead works.
P2 needs tightening up. You could also use more of a storytelling approach (see the "martini glass story structure on p. 48 n text) to make it more interesting:
When El Cerrito Detective Sgt. Shawn Maples arrived on the scene, he saw an overturned 10-wheeled asphalt truck protruding from a burning single-story home. He heard screams coming from under the debris and dug until he found some digging the driver stuck between the truck's wheels. His legs were mangled and he couldn't move.
“We dragged him out in a heartbeat while the truck went up in flames. I just wanted to get him out of there,” Maples said. (you don't need to give his full name again)
Post a Comment