May 19, 2015 2 min read

When Avella fire Chief Eric Temple got the report from the 911 dispatch center just after 6 a.m. Tuesday that a pickup truck had crashed and was inside a house in Independence Township, he quickly learned that the dispatcher was not exaggerating.

Temple and other firefighters from Avella and West Middletown arrived at the home of Angela Hunter, 621 Washington Pike (Route 844), to find a one-ton pickup truck owned by Rockwater Energy inside the dining room.

State police said Hunter was sitting in a recliner about 6 feet from where the truck came to rest. She was not injured.

”I have been on calls where vehicles have hit buildings, houses and porches but never had one completely inside the house like that,” Temple said. “When I saw all the devastation, I thought ‘Oh, man!'”

State police said the driver, Shawn Maracich, 39, of Follansbee, W.Va., was driving west when he swerved to avoid a deer that in the middle of the road. Another driver also saw the deer, police said.

The truck traveled along 225 feet of guardrail before leaving the road.

It went through some hedges and into the yard before striking Hunter’s vehicle and plowing into the house.

Maracich was not injured.

The truck had torn out electrical wires, so Temple had another firefighter shut off power to the house so there would not be a fire. He said there was also dust and steam coming from the air bags.

Hunter will stay with her mother, Temple said.

A representative of her insurance company was scheduled to come out and board up the house while the damage was assessed.