Runaway Truck
A runaway truck caused a fire yesterday and knocked out power in El Cerrito and neighboring cities including Berkeley and Richmond. The accident was on Moeser Lane in El Cerrito. The large asphalt truck, a ten wheel hauler, was overturned and smashed against someone’s house. The truck snapped a power pole and damaged five vehicles very badly.
El Cerrito police Detective Sgt. Shawn Maples was one of the first rescue workers to arrive at the scene. He stated that he heard cries coming from the burning truck flipped on its side and the house and he started to dig through the debris, spotting the driver lodged between the wheels of the truck. Maples said that the driver’s legs were mangled and he couldn’t move. Maples along with help from Police Chief Scott Kirkland and Detective Ken Zinc were able to pull the driver to safety. Maples said, “We dragged him out in a heartbeat while the truck went up in flames. I just wanted to get him of there.”
Another witness named Ruben Sharma who lives across the street from the single story home that was destroyed by the fire, said he was about to head back to work around 1:30 when the crash occurred. He stated that at “First, I thought it was a major earthquake. This is unbelievable.” His front yard was littered with bricks, broken glass, car parts, splintered wood, palm fronds and other debris.
A Honda sedan also hit by the truck was so crumpled that the driver was trapped inside. Rescue workers had to slice into it and peel back the roof to save the trapped driver. The other cars in the accident were also damaged. The truck driver whose name was not released broke both of his legs in the crash. He is listed in serious but stable condition at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.
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1 comment:
Your lead is too long.
A runaway asphalt truck smashed into a home and knocked out power in El Cerrito and neighboring cities yesterday afternoon.
Paragraphs are too long. Make each quote its own separate paragraph.
As a reporter, your job is to make it easy for people to find out what happened and why. So you need to write tight, clarify. See below:
“First, I thought it was a major earthquake," said Ruben Sharma, who lives across the street from the damaged home. "This is unbelievable.”
Sharma said he was about to head back to work around 1:30 when the crash occurred. His front yard was littered with bricks, broken glass, car parts and other debris from the impact.
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