Runaway truck clips Wailuku Heights home

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WAILUKU - A flatbed truck rolled down a steep Wailuku Heights street Tuesday, plowed through fruit trees, bounced off a Lexus sport utility vehicle and clipped a home, damaging the roof and a clothesline and crushing a plot of dryland taro.

"It could have been worse," said Kelli Haaff, whose home at 441 Polulani Drive was damaged in the incident Tuesday morning.

Haaff said neither she nor any of the other residents were at home when the crash occurred. The incident was reported at around 10:55 a.m.

There were no reported injuries, said police, who reported the unoccupied truck rolled downhill after blocks were removed from under the truck's tires as workers prepared to move it.

The Mark Elf Construction truck loaded with roofing material in its bed came to rest between the backside of Haaff's garage and a neighboring home, stopped by a retaining wall. Construction company officials did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Carmela Ho, who co-owns the damaged home with Haaff and her family, said she was told by workers that when the tires of the truck were unblocked, the truck began to roll down the steep slope of Polulani Drive.

She said she didn't know if it was a mechanical malfunction or if someone just forgot to apply parking brakes on the truck.

Neighbor Doug Mossman, who lives across the street from the damaged home, said the truck was parked at a home farther up on Polulani Drive.

Later, when he looked out of his window, he saw the truck rolling through a lot filled with fruit trees and plants. He said the truck "bounced off" a parked Lexus sports utility vehicle before it rolled through a vacant grassy lot next to Haaff's home, stopping behind Haaff's home and another house.

Mossman, who was calling 911 when the truck was still rolling, said the truck was "going really fast."

"It's a steep hill," he said.

The truck had been parked near the home of Marilou Fernandez on Polulani Drive, which is being re-roofed.

"It was just a weird accident," said Fernandez, whose Lexus sport utility vehicle was damaged by the runaway truck.

The impact of the truck shattered the back window of the Lexus GX 470 and mangled the bumper on the driver's side. Sheared-off tree branches were scattered next to the Lexus, before Fernandez moved the damaged vehicle back into her garage.

Fernandez said she was vacuuming her home and didn't hear the commotion outside.

She said workers had stopped work because it was beginning to rain when the incident happened. She expressed no resentment toward the workers over the incident.

"They are a good crew," she said.

Around a half hour after the incident, workers arrived with heavy equipment to haul the truck out of the Haaff's backyard. A wall next to the home apparently stopped the truck from rolling farther into the backyard. The impact of the truck against the house appeared to have shaken the home's roof, damaging sections that were not directly struck by the truck.

The incident got the attention of neighbors. One said she rushed out of her home after hearing what she thought was someone dragging a trash can.

At the damaged home, Ho said at first she couldn't believe what had happened. But she could still smile and joke with neighbors, knowing that no one had been hurt - and the truck had just missed plowing into the home.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.