It is (was) no Place Like Home
Even if the house was condemned by the building inspector of the city yesterday morning, Roger E. Castell felt quite optimistic about the joke that was hidden in a truck landing on the couch Falcon (boy with balloons) in the attic.
“What can I do? It’s only a house,” Mr. Castell, 61, said. “But can you tell me, how do you get on ‘Extreme Makeover?’ ”
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is a television reality in which local contractors working with the makers of the construction or renovation of housing for needy families. Mr. Castell Stafford Street home for 31 years needs a makeover, in any case, after a tractor trailer truck ran down the street just 5 weeks clock Monday and plowed the court in the living room. The front of the full-size United Van Lines-tractor trailer filled the entire room and the front was just before the fire. The top of the truck tore part of the roof and sides of the vehicle tore up new curtains.
The more you look, the more I think the house is ready to collapse. There are cracks developed in the walls is incredible. When I heard a truck fell on his house, I imagined a small van, said Joyce Perrson of Worcester, a friend of Mr Castell.
A truck driver himself, Mr. Castell called Ms. Perrson Monday night to let her know what happened. She said Mr. Castell — who had numerous trophies and awards in his home for safe truck driving — feels bad for the driver.
Police said a driver who did not stop at a stop sign set off a chain reaction that caused the tractor-trailer to crash through the front of the home at 607 Stafford St.
“These trucks can’t stop on a dime,” Ms. Perrson said. “The driver said something about the wheel — that it locked.”
The chain reaction began when Rene M. Brown, headed north on Auburn Street, went through the intersection without stopping at the stop sign, according to Police Chief James Hurley. The car she was driving collided with the truck, which was headed west on Stafford Street. After colliding with Ms. Brown’s BMW, the truck veered off the road and crashed into Mr. Castell’s home.
“My son Shawn called me, and said, ‘Are you home?’ It was around 5. No. ‘Well you better get home, there’s a truck in your parlor,’ ” Mr. Castell said. He said his son heard about the accident from a friend who was driving by.
Rescuers were able to get the driver of the truck, Robert F. Stuart, 58, and his passenger, Caroline Cooney, 47, both of Abington, out from the rear door of the sleeper cab. Both were taken by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment of injuries that were not considered life-threatening. The truck was heavily damaged. Ms. Brown, 43, of Spencer, was able to get out of her vehicle on her own and was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where she was treated and released. Stafford Street and several surrounding streets were closed for several hours, according to Chief Hurley.
Mr. Castell said he was at work, Con-Way Freight in Shrewsbury, when the accident occurred. When he tried to get home on Auburn Street, he said a police officer told him the road was closed. He explained to the officer that it was his home.
“ ‘Well someone had a bad day,’ ” Mr. Castell said the officer told him as he let him drive down the road.
Large cranes and wreckers extricated the truck from the house and lifted it back onto the road about 11 p.m. Monday. A crane was used to hold up a section of the home’s roof, which was resting on the truck, according to police. Leicester firefighters secured the structure so the truck could be safely removed. Today, there were piles of debris in the front inside and outside of the house. The truck’s steps were resting on the back deck.
Mr. Cassell said the town’s code enforcement officer, Jeffrey Taylor, was out early yesterday to inspect the damages.
“The house is condemned: There’s no water, no sewerage, no heat, no electricity,” Mr. Castell said, adding a bit tongue-in-cheek, “No front room and no TV.”
An insurance adjuster was yesterday morning to assess damage. The governor said Castell, as the plan is temporary, a trailer to live in a property the next day, Mr. Castell, while her home is repaired. He said that the insurance will send an engineer to determine if the institution has been destroyed building.
The accident is under investigation by police in Leicester, central Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council Accident Reconstruction Unit and state police commercial vehicle control unit. The city building inspector was requested to assess the structural integrity of the house. Ms. Brown said the police for failing to obey a stop point and failure to stop at an intersection using care. Hurley said lead investigator on the accident is underway.
