Truck crashes into building

Published 5:00 am Thursday, July 19, 2007

There were no injuries Wednesday afternoon when a driver lostcontrol of his truck on West Congress Street and slammed into abusiness building.

Daniel Ritz, 29, of 507 Urban Lane, was traveling east on WestCongress Street in a 2005 GMC Sierra pickup when he lost controland smashed into the side of Thames and Eady Floor Finishers at thecorner of Linton Avenue. The store was closed when the accidenthappened around 3:50 p.m.

“The throttle got stuck on the truck,” he said. “I had thebrakes mashed. You can see that from the tires, but it was like amagnet had my pedal stuck to the floor.”

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Ritz said he lost control of the truck while trying to free thethrottle.

“I hit the brakes while I was working on the throttle and when Ilooked up I had to swerve to avoid a car and hit the building,” hesaid.

Police Chief Pap Henderson said a report on the accident wasstill pending while the investigating officer gathered and verifiedinformation. However, the chief said that Ritz also told theofficer that the throttle of the truck had jammed and he was unableto slow the vehicle.