Smashed: A runaway trailer mowed down a woman's fence and smashed into her living room wall in Manoora, Cairns.
Alarmed: Neighbour Rachel O’Donnell inspects the damage.
Trailer of destruction: The trailer crashed through a fence and wall after coming loose.
Trailer ploughs into home
Trailer of destruction: The trailer crashed through a fence and wall after coming loose.
Trailer ploughs into home
Damon Guppy
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
© The Cairns Post
AN elderly woman narrowly missed being hit by flying bricks when a runaway trailer smashed into her Manoora house.
The Swallow St resident was in the hallway near her living room yesterday morning when the trailer broke free from a landscaper’s ute, ran over a metal fence and crashed into the front wall about 10am.
Paramedics treated her for shock at the scene and she was being looked after by her carer yesterday afternoon.
"The elderly occupant is very, very shaken up as you can imagine," Cairns fire station officer Roy Kennedy said.
"It was a lucky escape from flying masonry and so on.
"You can imagine the sudden impact and the fright that would create.
"It was a bit of a shock and not something you’d expect."
He said the trailer was carrying landscaping machinery, fuel and herbicides but there was no threat of fire.
The front wall and window were caved in and metal poles were put up to stop the wall from collapsing any further.
"The front of the house has got structural damage and the integrity of the house has been compromised," Mr Kennedy said.
"It’ll probably take a couple of days to restore."
He said the woman was "amazed" at the damage caused to her house.
Rachel O’Donnell was next door when the trailer hit the house.
"I just heard a big bang and looked out my window," she said.
"The trailer was embedded in the wall.
"It’s taken out a little bit of my fence."
Trailer owner Argent’s Mowing Service did not respond to The Cairns Post before press time.
Police interviewed the driver and no changes have been laid.
The trailer would be inspected to determine why it came loose.
Posted by Ron Melancon at 11:34 AM
