CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A black pickup truck drove through a fence and slammed into the front of a townhome building Sunday morning in northeast Charlotte.
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The crash happened just before 4 a.m. at the Townes at University Pointe Apartment Homes off North Tryon Street.
A woman, who didn’t want to be identified, said she was in her bedroom upstairs when the truck plowed through her townhome.
"Oh my gosh, it was horrible,” she said.
She said a firefighter had to rescue her through the bedroom window.
The woman's sister-in-law, Yessy Maldonado, said she owns this unit as she walked Channel 9 through the damage.
"It's crazy. Inside is, oh my God,” Maldonado said. "The good news is the bedroom is in the second floor, so nobody was here."
The crash was so powerful it took down the wall separating the unit next door.
[GALLERY: Pickup truck slams into northeast Charlotte apartment]
The front of the unit is destroyed, and a blue tarp covers the space where the front door of the apartment once stood.
Parts of the truck were scattered all over the ground.
When first responders arrived at the scene, the truck was partially inside the home.
Neighbors told Channel 9 they felt the entire unit shake when the truck crashed into the building.
"I was really scared for the people in the house. I was scared for the person driving the vehicle. It was just scary. You didn't know if the truck, would it explode? It was smoke everywhere," said neighbor Teresa Alexander.
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Alexander, who lives two doors down, said the crash woke her up.
"I've seen it on television, but I never thought I would be a part of it,” Alexander said. “My heart was racing because I was thinking, ‘What is it? What happened?’”
Alexander said she heard the engine revving and tires of the truck spinning even after the crash.
"The smell of that burning rubber will be in my mind forever,” Alexander said.
The name of the driver has not been released at this time.
Channel 9 is working to find out the condition of the driver and what led up to the crash.
This is an ongoing investigation. Check back with wsoctv.com for more information.
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