GERMANTOWN, NY — A New York woman told WRGB television that she and her dog are lucky to be alive.
That is because a big rig hauling lumber crashed into her home on Thursday.
Karen Stodolski and her dog were outside in her yard on Crawford Lane off state route 9G when she heard what she told the television station sounded like a freight train coming in her direction.
Around 9:46 a.m. a tractor trailer was traveling from Palatine Park Road when it crossed over state Route 9G, left the roadway and plowed through a stand of trees before crashing into her home and two large propane tanks.
The bed of the truck turned upside down, scattering lumber across the property.
Stodolski told WRGB she and her dog were in the yard directly in the truck’s path. She believes pieces of lumber from the truck flung the chair she was sitting in, moving her out of the way and sparing both their lives.
“I truly thought I was dead. At first I was like ‘what is that noise,’ and then it was slow motion but it was so fast and I couldn’t move. I was frozen. I couldn’t save myself, and I truly thought I was going to die,” Stodolski as she recounted the moment the tractor trailer came crashing into her yard. “And then I’m laying there on the ground, thankful I’m not dead.”
The truck also crashed into her 250 gallon propane tanks, knocking them down.
“It was spewing out clouds,” she said. ”And, so, I’m laying there, and then I hear it, and then I see the big clouds coming out. I smell it, and I’m like, ‘I probably shouldn’t be here.’”
“It was like something out of a ‘Final Destination’ movie,” Stodolski said.
The Germantown Central School which, acoording to the television station is located less than half a mile away from the crash site, evacuated as a precaution, according to Germantown Fire Chief Philip Salvatore.
Fire officials said about 40–50 gallons of fuel also leaked, prompting DEC officials to respond to the scene.
According to Salvatore, the truck driver suffered minor injuries.
Salvatore said the cause of the crash. and why the driver left the roadway remains under investigation.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
