DELAWARE TOWNSHIP-- "The whole house shook, it sounded like a tornado ripping the side of the house off!" Eugene Renninger still can't believe his eyes. Early Sunday morning a loud sound woke him up. When he got out of bed in his second floor apartment, he found part of his living room was gone.
He said, "It was about a twelve-foot gap in my wall where my deer heads used to be."
Police said before dawn the driver of a pickup truck was delivering newspapers when he said he fell asleep and crashed into the red brick house on Main Street in Dewart.
Renninger showed Newswatch 16 the path leading to the collision.
"Basically, the truck came from the intersection and then right up the sidewalk here, took out the porch, and everything collapsed."
As Eugene realized what happened he headed downstairs to check on his neighbor Ashley Truxall. Her bedroom had taken a direct hit.
Just two weeks before, the 23-year-old had moved her bed across the room, away from the spot where a pile of bricks now stands.
She said," I moved it to the opposite side of the wall, because I always get bored so I move my room around. I guess I just got lucky."
The driver was taken to the hospital where he is expected to recover. Neighbors said the bricks were so heavy a tow truck could not remove the pick-up and a backhoe had to be called in. No word yet on any charges.
Despite everything that happened, by afternoon Renninger was mowing the lawn of the rental property. He said neighbors in Dewart have been especially generous, helping him remove his belongings, even his food. He said he has rented the apartment for 5 years and hopes repairs can be made.
Renninger said while his landlord has already found a contractor, they are waiting for an insurance adjuster to visit to determine if the home can be saved.
He said,"It's one of those things. You re-evaluate everything that has happened in your life, and you know God gave you another break."