by Heather Graf
NASHVILLE Tenn. - On Friday, the Bellevue man whose home was torn apart by a runaway garbage truck got his first look at the damage.
Jeremy Whaley and his family were vacationing in Florida when the accident occurred on Thursday afternoon.
"He called me and said we've had a major accident, and you're never going to believe it," Jeremy said. "And I said okay, what was it? And he said a trash truck came down the hill and crashed into the house."
Jeremy believes it was a last-minute twist of fate that saved the lives of his wife and two young sons.
"We actually were not going to go. We almost didn't leave. And my wife was like, 'I want a vacation', so I was like 'okay, let's do it'," he said.
Jeremy flew back from Florida on Thursday night, but left his wife and kids at his parents house, while he deals with insurance adjustors and tries to save whatever he can from their house.
He tells us the house right now is unlivable, and not just because of the gaping hole in his master bedroom.
"The damage is crazy," he said. "Because what happened is, the truck continued to run, and all the exhaust came through the house."
Had they not been out of town, he knows, it would've been a very different situation.
"At any given time, this could've been a 5 or 6 or 6 person casualty," he said. "This is the busiest corner of our house. Our baby sleeps here, my wife sleeps here, we sleep here."
The garbage truck that lost control is owned by PDQ Disposal, out of Nashville.
On Friday, the general manager there told News Channel 5 the driver has been released from the hospital, and is resting at home.
He also says they've launched a full investigation, to determine whether it was indeed brake failure that caused the crash.
email: hgraf@newschannel5.com
