‘I could have been coming out of my front door:’ Allegedly stolen U-Haul crashes into woman’s home

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville woman is left picking up the pieces after a U-Haul truck suspected of being stolen crashed into her Edgewood Manor home early Thursday morning.

“Somebody decided to run into it,” homeowner Annie Richardson said.

Richardson spent the morning surveying the damage to her yard and home.

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“One of the most devastating things for me is I could have been coming out of my front door. Now, my body would have been looking like that. I could have been backing out of my driveway and the same thing could have happened,” Richardson said.

According to the police report, a JSO officer said he spotted the truck around 6 a.m. in an area where stolen vehicles are often dumped.

The officer began to follow the truck down Owen Avenue and turned on his blue flashing lights. The officer then claimed the truck took off and began driving recklessly.

The officer decided not to chase the truck claiming the situation did not meet the criteria for a pursuit. But the truck kept going.

The officer then witnessed it take a left on Lockhart Drive before he heard a loud crash.

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It turned out to be the sound of the truck plowing through Richardson’s neighbor’s fence, across her yard, and coming to a crashing halt as it hit her front porch.

“It sounded like something had exploded,” Richardson said.

When police arrived, the suspect was nowhere to be found and the ignition of the truck was punched in, which is consistent with stolen cars of that make and model, according to police.

“They left the car running, the truck running, and they ran,” Richardson said.

Now, Richardson is left to figure out how to rebuild, and more urgently, how to get her water restored.

The crash broke water pipes connected to her home.

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And she told Action News Jax the answers she’s gotten from her insurance company aren’t providing her with any comfort.

“They tell me 24 to 48 hours when I got busted pipes, I can’t use the water. This is my only place of staying and they tell me I have to wait? Or either I have to fix it. I have to pay for it and then I can get reimbursed. That’s unacceptable,” Richardson said.

The suspect is still on the loose.

Unfortunately, there is no description, but if you have any tips, you can report them to JSO or First Coast Crime Stoppers.

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