Truck Accidents 360 Newswire

LOWELL, MA: A truck driver eating chili passed out and crashed into a house Saturday morning. The truck accident happened in the Centerville section of Lowell, Massachusetts. The area is in the far northeast section of the state near the New Hampshire border, 34 miles southeast of Manchester, NH and 32 miles northwest of Boston, MA.

Truck smashed through the white picket fence and slammed into a house at 498 Lakeview Ave.

At around 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning, 59 year old Eric Gremm of Tyngsboro, MA, was driving a flatbed truck, delivering lumber for Sherburne Lumber, based in Tyngsboro….

The truck driver, Gremm, was eating a small chili he had purchased from Wendy’s as he drove down Lakeview Avenue in Lowell. At one point the flatbed truck hit a bump in the road and according to Gremm the chili “went down the wrong pipe”.

Gremm began to choke and cough. The last thing he remembers is feeling light-headed, and then he reportedly lost consciousness. The truck driver lost control of the vehicle and the flatbed trailer truck left the roadway. It smashed through the white picket fence and slammed into a house at 498 Lakeview Ave. The truck accident created a large gaping hole in the home and knocked the structure about a foot off its foundation.

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Local emergency personnel responded to the scene and treated the truck driver. He reportedly told the paramedics that he remembers choking on the chili, but did not remember passing out. Gremm was then transported to Lowell General Hospital. There were no reports on his condition, but the bridge of his nose was injured in the truck accident.

The first floor resident of the duplex house, Anne Marie Giaquinto, was home from work at the time of the truck accident, but luckily was in another room when the flatbed truck came crashing into the house. She was uninjured but shaken by the truck accident and was taken to the hospital to be checked out.

Maria Anstiss, who owns the home and lives on the second floor with her family, was not at home at the time of the truck collision. She told local media that she was glad, because “It could have been devastating for my kids”.

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A nearby neighbor, Angel Cruz, said he felt his own house shake and when he looked he saw the first floor occupant, Ms. Giaquinto, trying to jump out the window. He said he went over and saw the injured truck driver.

The flatbed truck’s front wheels crashed into the house and through the first floor, into the basement. A main support beam, which is now resting on the furnace, is the only thing preventing the flatbed truck from sliding into the hole.

Because of the amount of structural damage sustained in the truck accident Lowell city officials believe it could be unsafe, and made the residents move out temporarily. They were allowed to return for a few minutes to gather belongings. Officials are leaving the truck in the house to keep the structure from collapsing until a structural engineer can come out. Utility workers shut off the gas and electricity to the house.

Structural engineers came out and examined the house on Monday. The city’s acting building commissioner, David St. Hilaire, said that the engineers have determined that the house is destroyed and will have to be demolished. The truck will have to remain in the house until it is demolished, because the engineers feel if it is removed first the structure could collapse and damage nearby houses.

The owners, Jerry and Maria Anstiss, salvaged what they could from their home.

Lowell Police officers responded to the truck accident scene, as did the Massachusetts State Police. No charges have been made at this time, but the truck driver could be cited for eating while driving. Police explained that even eating can be a potentially dangerous driving distraction.

The truck accident remains under investigation.

For more information about Massachusetts trucking laws, truck injury causes and victims rights, contact our nationwide truck accident attorneys for the best advise possible. For a free initial consultation, talk to a Massachusetts truck accident attorney at 800.773.6770.