Sleepy truck driver plows rig into 82nd Avenue business

Considering the damage, it was a miracle that no one was seriously injured in this Montavilla neighborhood crash …

Police block northbound traffic along SE 82nd Avenue of Roses near the Banfield Freeway, in outer East Portland, after a truck slams into a business. PPB photo

By David F. Ashton

The driver of a large box delivery truck got a rude awakening about 6:30 a.m. on April 17.

Unfortunately, he was driving, as he awoke – and his rig had just driven through the wall of the “All People Travel” agency, at 46 SE 82nd Avenue of Roses.

The truck had apparently sideswiped and damaged a wooden utility pole before crashing through the side of the business, which is located inside what once was a residence.

Passersby slowed to gawk, seeing this truck implanted into a building.

“Portland Fire & Rescue helped get the driver out of the truck; the accident appears to be a non-injury crash,” related Portland Police Bureau Public Information Officer Sgt. Pete Simpson. “Speed is thought to be a factor.”

But the building’s owner told us he overheard that the driver was likely asleep at the wheel. Speeding while sleeping is a no-no.

Firefighters rescue the driver of the smashed truck.

Later that morning, the side of the building crumbled when a wrecker pulled the delivery truck back out of the building. The status of that business is uncertain.

© 2017 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News

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