Tow Truck Crashes Into NC House

Here's the story from NC's Gaston Gazette:

BESSEMER CITY -- A flatbed tow truck smashed through the front door of a house Wednesday morning when its driver swerved to avoid hitting a car.

Police said Gerald Miller, 23, of Bessemer City, was driving the 1998 Chevrolet roll-back wrecker when a 1999 Cadillac driven by Louise Fraley, 74, of Bessemer City, ran a stop sign at the intersection of East Maine Avenue and North Seventh Street.

Miller veered to the left, but his truck hit the side of Fraley's car before striking two vans in the front yard of David Terry's home at 601 E. Maine Ave., said Officer Mike Elliott of the Gaston County Police Department.

Police said the truck burst through Terry's front door and the entire cab came to rest inside the living room.

"The whole cab of the roll-back wrecker was embedded into the house," said Sgt. Mark Johnson. "The occupant said he had just walked through there walking back into his bedroom. I think God was looking out for him."

No one inside the house was hurt when the truck plowed into the living room.

The tow truck spun Fraley's car into the home's front yard, and she was taken to Gaston Memorial Hospital with unknown injuries. Miller was unhurt.

Police said the truck, which is owned by Patterson Auto Parts in Kings Mountain, hit a rented 2008 Dodge van parked in front of the home, pushing it into Terry's 1998 Chevrolet van.

An estimate of damage to the house was not immediately available, but Johnson said the truck left a "gaping hole" in the residence. The wreck was reported at 9:03 a.m. Wednesday.

Fraley was cited for failing to stop at a stop sign.