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Dump truck smashes into New Jersey house, collapsing floor beneath homeowner’s feet

A dump truck went off-road and crashed into a New Jersey home, causing it to partially collapse as the homeower sat inside, according to police in Egg Harbor City.
A dump truck went off-road and crashed into a New Jersey home, causing it to partially collapse as the homeower sat inside, according to police in Egg Harbor City. Screengrab from video by TV station KYW.

A dump truck slammed into a New Jersey home, causing it to partially collapse while the 80-year-old homeowner sat in his living room.

According to police in Egg Harbor City, the 69-year-old driver was traveling along the White Horse Pike when the truck first collided with a car, then jumped a curb, crossed a field, smashed through a thicket of trees and crashed into the house around 7:40 a.m. Monday, Nov. 22.

Surveillance video shared by new outlets shows the entire structure shift upon collision and list forward onto its ruined porch, as a power line sparks overhead. The truck doesn’t appear to slow down before the crash.

The homeowner, meanwhile, was sitting in the first floor living room, police said.

“Family members explained to us [that] the 80-year-old gentleman was sitting in his living room, where he sat every morning,” Egg Harbor City Police Chief Marcella Aylwin told station KYW. “The truck collided with the house causing the floor to collapse under him, and the gentleman who was on the first floor then wound up in the basement because of the floor collapse.”

Despite the severity of the damage, both the driver and homeowner were taken to a hospital with only minor injuries, police said, and the homeowner was cleared to leave within hours.

The incident is being investigated, police said.

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This story was originally published November 22, 2021 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Dump truck smashes into New Jersey house, collapsing floor beneath homeowner’s feet."

MW
Mitchell Willetts
The State
Mitchell Willetts is a real-time news reporter covering the central U.S. for McClatchy. He is a University of Oklahoma graduate and outdoors enthusiast living in Texas.
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