‘The bang was so loud’: Woman hurt when landscaping truck smashes into living room

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A woman was taken to the hospital after a truck hauling landscaping equipment plowed into the living room of a man’s east Charlotte home early Monday.

The crash happened around 4:35 a.m. on Briar Creek Road, between Central Avenue and Independence Boulevard.

According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, someone who was visiting the home got into the truck and accidentally crashed through a wall.

Channel 9 reporter Anthony Kustura spoke to James Shepard, the man who lives there. He said he was in the kitchen cooking food when he heard the collision. He said he rushed to the living room and saw the destruction.

“There was so much smoke and dust, debris, so I didn’t know if something blew up or what,” Shepard said. “I didn’t know what I was getting ready to be in for when I came around that corner.”

Shepard told Channel 9 that his girlfriend had been sitting on the couch in the living room just moments before the crash, and for a brief time, she was pinned beneath some of the debris and rubble.

[PHOTOS: Landscaping truck slams into east Charlotte home]

She was taken to the hospital as a precaution and will be OK, police said.

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 10

Landscaping truck slams into Charlotte man's living room (WSOC)

“My girlfriend was sleeping on the couch, so I went back to cooking and I had sat down for a second but the food was still a little too high so I jumped back up to turn the food down,” he said. “The bang was so loud that I kind of ducked down because I didn’t know why it was coming through that door, or if it was a tree falling on the house. But as I looked around, I seen a big cloud of smoke. I mean God was with her, God was with us today.”

Shepard, who owns a catering business, said he was broadcasting on Facebook Live to promote his catering business when the crash happened.

He said he knows the woman who was driving the truck and that she had just stopped by to pick up some food. He said she was not familiar with the vehicle and as she was trying to back out of the driveway she accidentally had the vehicle in drive and slammed into the house.

There was extensive damage to both the front of the house as well as the roof.

The vehicle was finally pulled free around 10:30 a.m. Shepard said they are lucky the crash happened when it did because he is usually standing in the doorway and now, he is counting his blessings, twice.

Briar Creek Road was closed briefly but has since reopened.

Channel 9 has asked police what caused the driver to lose control before crashing into the home and if that person will face charges.

Check back with wsoctv.com for updates on this story.

MUST SEE: Truck smashes into east Charlotte man?s living room MUST SEE: Truck smashes into east Charlotte man?s living room

Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com:

• Couples left scrambling after Charlotte wedding venue closes unexpectedly
• GUILTY: Jury convicts man in 2017 slaying of beloved uptown newspaper deliveryman
• ‘I’m going fishing’: Morganton man wins big lottery prize for a second time
• FORECAST: Clear morning but more rain on the way to start workweek
• Uptown, NoDa eateries among those that didn’t make the grade in January

© 2020 Cox Media Group