ORANGE PARK, Fla. — A family of four is displaced after a pickup truck and trailer went crashing into their home this afternoon.
Investigators tell us it happened when the driver hit the accelerator instead of the brake.
No one was inside the Orange Park home on Loring Village Court at the time of the crash. Clay County Fire Rescue tells us the crash happened around 1:15 p.m. Monday.
TRENDING STORIES:
College football player from Jacksonville killed while home for break, coaches say
Florida neighbor reports woman screaming ‘let me out.’ It was a parrot, deputies discover
Deadly crash on I-10 WB at Chaffee Road, FHP says
Person found shot dead near Crescent City Police station, man arrested
The truck left a gaping hole in the front of the home and debris scattered in the front yard.
The family of four includes a man, woman and two boys, ages 2 and 6.
Marimar Vazquez is a friend of the now-displaced family. She tells us the dad was at work, and the mom and two kids would have been home, had she not invited them out.
0 of 5
“I said to her, ‘Let’s take the kids out for the last day of the winter break, and just do something different,’” she said. “And that’s how she wasn’t here, because she’s a stay-at-home mom, so she would have been here.”
Clay County Fire Rescue said the man driving the Chevy pickup was distracted, and lost control. Orange Park Police say he’s been cited for careless driving and is cooperating.
We’re told the family does have homeowner’s insurance, and the driver’s auto insurance is contributing, as well.
Vazquez said the family’s doing the best they can for now.
“They’re in shock, but they’re holding up pretty well,” Vazquez said. “They’re in the middle of dealing with everything, and finding a place to stay, so I think they’re overwhelmed.”
Orange Park police tell Action News Jax the Town of Orange Park stepped up to put the family in a hotel for the night and is working to find a more permanent solution for the family while the home is repaired.
© 2020 Cox Media Group
