Runaway Truck-Revised

El Cerrito- A runaway asphalt truck left a path of destruction and a power outage in its wake in El Cerrito yesterday afternoon.

The 10-wheeler snapped a power pole and badly damaged five vehicles on Moeser Lane before smashing into a house, which subsequently caught on fire. Detective Sgt. Shawn Maples, was one of the first rescue workers to arrive at the scene. He heard cries coming from the burning truck and house, and he started digging through the debris. He spotted the driver lodged between the wheels of the truck, which had flipped on its side. The driver was not able to move because his legs were mangled in the wreckage. Maples, Police Chief Scott Kirkland and Detective Ken Zinc, were able to pull him to safety. Maples said, "We dragged him out in a heartbeat while the truck went up in flames. I just wanted to get him out of there."

A neighbor, Ruben Sharma, was about to head back to work, and came out to his front yard littered with bricks, broken glass  car parts, splintered wood and palm fronds. He said, "I thought it was a major earthquake."

One of the cars that was hit was a Honda sedan that was hit by the truck was so crumpled that the driver was trapped inside. Rescue workers sliced into the car, finding that the driver broke both of his legs. He was listed in serious but stable condition at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.