Majority of residents let back into Dayton apartment complex hit by truck; Driver cited

DAYTON — Its been a week since a pickup truck crashed into a Dayton apartment complex, injuring four people and displacing 20 people.

The crash happened at the intersection of Wayne and Wilmington Avenues, a busy Dayton intersection.

Dayton Police have completed their preliminary investigation into the crash, where excessive speed was believed to be a factor, according to a crash report. Dayton Municipal Court records filed this week showed several citations, including driving with out a drivers license and firing under suspension, have been filed against 33-year-old Joshua McCallister, the Mason man who was behind the wheel of the pickup.

Twenty occupants of the building were displaced, but some were allowed back into the building 48 hours later.

>> PHOTOS: Crash sends vehicle into building in Dayton

Margaret Johnson, of Dayton, was at the scene of the crash last week.

“It got pushed. It was like an earthquake, it feels unstable,” Johnson said.

She told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell that this was the third time a vehicle smashed into her apartment building in the three years she has lived there.

“So three or four times. How long can a building keep standing, being hit that many times,” she said.

Johnson and residents in 17 other apartments were taken to a Red Cross shelter. Two days later, inspectors gave residents of all but three apartments the green light to return home.

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Lori Kay Miller is one of the residents who have not been cleared to return to her apartment, which is right above where a pickup truck smashed through. Now, the hole remains boarded up.

Miller said she’s currently staying with a friend in the building and can’t get into her place for clean clothes.

“I still paid rent,” Miller said. “I don’t need an eviction, then no one will rent me.”

Miller said she hopes the owners will use the rent money to pay for repairs.

Dayton inspectors told News Center 7 that the owner did hire a structural engineer to develop plans for repairs, but that could take weeks.

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

Johnson said she spots cracks in the bricks and walls when she walks around the building with her dog. Her children have urged her to move from a place that doesn’t feel like home, but she said finding a new place is not easy.

“Two people told me I’m on a waiting list. I can’t wait no longer for this building to fall down, I have to go,” Johnson said.

City inspectors and a structural engineer do not believe the building will fall, but no one can go back into the three front apartments closest to the impact until plans are submitted and approved. There is no timeline for that at this time.

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