Truck rolls onto front porch of Mercer Island home

It's not every day that a truck crashes into a home on a quiet residential street, but that's exactly what happened on Thursday when a Servpro truck rolled down 77th Avenue S.E. into Gertrude Hollis's home.

Hollis, 97, has lived in the home since 1962. A couple of neighbors were visiting at the time, and no one was injured. One of the neighbors, Tami Szerlip, said normally Hollis would have been outside sitting on her porch, exactly where the truck hit, but she was inside with her guests.

Sgt. Jeff Magnan with the Mercer Island Police said the call came in at 2:17 p.m.

"My inclination is this was truly an accident," Magnan said. "It looks bad, but the house really isn't that damaged."

Servpro, a company that does fire, smoke and water restoration, was on a job up the hill on 77th. Magnan said it appears there was a partial failure of the emergency brake, which was engaged.

"We're using the word partially because if the brake had totally gone out, it would have gone through the house," he said.

After crashing over a small tree, the truck stopped and nestled under Hollis's front porch.

David Duarte with Servpro said one of his co-workers called out that the truck was going down the hill. The truck was unoccupied.

Hollis said she's been "truck free" for some time, and that the excitement of the event will last her a long time.

Magnan said Servpro does have insurance.

 

Contact Mercer Island Reporter Reporter Linda Ball at lball@issaquahreporter.com.

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