WATCH: Dump Truck Crashes Into Home In Egg Harbor City Causing It To Partially Collapse, Elderly Man Inside Home Survives
EGG HARBOR CITY, N.J. (CBS) -- Surveillance video shows the moment a dump truck plowed into a home in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey, causing the home to partially collapse. It happened along White Horse Pike, near Bremen and Antwerp Avenues, just after 7:30 a.m. Monday.
Luckily, an elderly man inside the home escaped with his life.
Video from across the street shows the dump truck slamming into the single-family home and pushing it off its foundation, forcing the first floor to collapse into the basement.
Dump truck slams into Egg Harbor City home like a speeding missile. 80-year-old homeowner drops from living room into basement, has only minor injuries. Driver taken to hospital. Also minor injuries. Investigation is ongoing. @CBSPhilly pic.twitter.com/laD6SxiSXo
— Joe Holden (@JoeHoldenCBS3) November 22, 2021
Tread marks show the truck left the road more than 100 yards away from the point of impact at the home. Investigators say a minor collision with another car a couple of blocks to the east along the White Horse Pike set this into motion.
According to police, 31-year-old Christopher Purks was driving west on White Horse Pike when his Honda was struck from behind by a commercial dump truck. The impact forced Purks' vehicle off the road. The dump truck, owned by Hammonton-based J. Domenico & Son Excavating, and driven by 69-year-old Rogelio Serrano, continued west on the White Horse Pike across eastbound lanes of traffic. After jumping the curb, the dump truck continued through a field, and collided with trees in a wooded area before striking the house.
Police say, the homeowner, 80-year-old Richard Beck was inside the house at the time. He suffered minor injuries.
The truck driver was also injured and was taken to the hospital.
Police were looking at a possible medical episode or to see if there were visible skid marks present on the road surface — to see if the dump truck's braking system was properly working.
"Family members explained to us the 80-year-old gentleman was sitting in his living room, where he sat every morning," Egg Harbor City Police Chief Marcella Aylwin said. "The truck collided with the house causing the floor to collapse under him and the gentleman who was on the first floor then wound up in the basement because of the floor collapse."
Authorities say it's too early to say if speeding was a factor in the crash given the dump truck wasn't on the road for more than 100 yards.
The house has since been red-tagged, meaning it's uninhabitable.
CBS3's Joe Holden contributed to this report.