Truck Driver`s Body Extricated After 24 Hours

The body of the driver of a construction truck that careened off a Bronx highway Monday night and slammed into a three-story home was removed after being trapped in the vehicle for more than 24 hours, authorities said. Firefighters spent much of the day Tuesday plotting ways to pull the wreckage out of the building amid the snowstorm, but feared the structure would collapse if they tried to haul the cement pump truck away from it.

Officials were waiting for a giant crane powerful enough to do the job.

Workers were able to get to the body of the driver and get him out sometime before midnight last night, cops said.

Authorities said the identity of the driver is pending notification to his family.

The driver was killed and four others were injured when his 40-ton vehicle sped off the Major Deegan Expressway in Morris Heights at around 6:20 p.m. Monday and rammed into the brick structure, leaving a gaping hole in the wall.

When firefighters arrived, there was a natural-gas leak.

“You could hear it hissing and smell it,” said FDNY Deputy Chief Jay Jonas.

After evacuating the building, rescuers tried to extricate the driver but could not.

They then called in two heavy-duty wreckers to try to remove the truck.

“It wasn’t coming out. We called a third wrecker and still couldn’t get it,” Jonas said.

“It’s a little challenging, but we’re approaching it methodically at this point. The weather is really compounding our problems.”.

Gas and electricity were shut down in three neighboring buildings, and will be restored after truck is removed.

Officials said the building was pushed off its foundation.

“The whole living-room wall was busted open,” said resident Taiesha Henry, 34. “You could see right outside into the street.”

Henry said she heard a loud thump and her two sons, ages 7 and 13, came screaming out of the living room after the crash.

“I grabbed my kids and we ran to the back,” she said. “They had to bust the windows open before they could rescue us.”

She and her family were not injured.

A witness said the driver was desperately honking his horn before his truck smashed into the building.

People living in neighboring houses were evacuated as officials were concerned the homes might collapse.

Dogs were brought in to search for bodies

Henry stood outside in tears as workers tried to remove the truck, and the facade of her home came crumbling apart.

“Oh, my God, my house,” she cried.

Four people in cars were injured when the truck smashed into them.

The Red Cross is providing emergency housing for two families.

Gawkers were undeterred by the snow and bitter cold, standing in the street to see the truck still straddling the icy sidewalk.

Officials said the vehicle is used to pump cement at high-rise construction sites.

Republished with permission of the New York Post.