Truck crashes over wall along East Pearl Street
Dan Daugherty backed his Dodge Ram truck into the yard of an East Pearl Street apartment in Butler City Monday, June 26, to deliver groceries, just as he had dozens of times before.
When he was unable to stop, he and a female passenger found themselves stuck on a wall at the bottom of the yard and jutting onto the street.
“It was a hell of a ride,” he said.
The female passenger was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for an ankle injury, but Daugherty was unharmed, he said.
Daugherty said he delivers groceries to the home often, as part of St. Vincent DePaul’s food distribution on North Elm Street.
“I usually back right up into the yard so (the homeowner) can unload the groceries. That’s a heck of a lot of steps to go up and down,” Daugherty said, referring to the sloped staircase leading from East Pearl Street to the front door.
Daugherty said when he felt the truck backing down the hill, he hit the brakes. When that didn’t work, he pushed it into park, which also didn’t stop the vehicle.
Paula Martin, a neighbor, said she heard the truck back over the wall, and it sounded like an explosion.
“It shook the house,” she said.
The wall, which runs along a sidewalk on East Pearl Street, is maintained by the city, she said.
Butler City firefighters were able to unload the groceries from the vehicle and place them on the front porch of the East Pearl Street address.
Martin and some other neighbors unloaded the refrigerated items and kept them cold until the recipient could be notified.
Tow trucks had to use a crane to lift the back end of the truck, then pull into a yard across the street to remove the car from the wall.
Butler City police also responded to the scene.
