‘Like a bomb blew up;’ Man describes moment truck slammed into his Dayton apartment

DAYTON — Twenty people remain without a home and in a temporary Red Cross center after a truck ran off the road and into their apartment building Thursday.

Crews were called out to called to the crash in the area of Wayne Avenue and Wilmington Avenue around 4:05 p.m. Thursday. The crash left four people injured, including Jonathan Hollbrook and his girlfriend.

>> PHOTOS: City condemns Dayton apartment building damaged in Thursday crash

Hollbrook said they were in their apartment at the time of the crash. He said he heard brakes lock up and instantly knew what was going to happen.

“Like a bomb blew up, it knocked me from the living room into the kitchen against the wall,” Hollbrook said.

He said the truck ended up just inches away from his girlfriend’s head. They both had to be rescued from the debris of their apartment and spent the night at the hospital, where Hollbrook was diagnosed with a fractured spine.

Now, the couple is spending the night on a cot at a Red Cross shelter with about 15 other displaced residents. All of them told News Center 7 that what landed them there was shocking.

“It was just like a big boom, heard a huge crash, almost like a bomb went off,” Zahrah Jordan, of Dayton, said.

>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 4 injured, 20 people displaced after truck slams into Dayton apartment building

City inspectors hung condemned signs on the doors on the complex, allowing no one in.

The residents told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell that this was the third vehicle to hit their building in the last three years. They also said if they’re ever allowed back in, they want to see safety barriers in place.

“Anything, something, just to stop cars from coming over the curb into the building. We are tired of our building being used for target practice,” Jordan said.

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