BUFFALO TWP — A delivery driver for FedEx Express was injured Tuesday morning when he tried to jump into his runaway tractor-trailer that rolled away on him at the Buffalo Plaza.
The driverless rig traveled out of control at about 10 a.m. through the typically busy intersection, crossing both lanes on Route 356 before smashing into an unoccupied car parked in the driveway of a home.
The truck tractor pushed the car into a large red tree, stopping the momentum and avoiding what could have been a worse and even freakier accident.
“If not for that car and the huge maple tree, the truck would have run into the house,” said Buffalo Township police Lt. Tim Derringer.
“And if the truck had veered a little to the left,” he added, “it would have gone down an embankment and onto Bear Creek Road.”
Police, emergency crews, onlookers and the homeowner, Gerald Watts, heaved a collective sigh of relief after assessing what could have been and learning that the FedEx driver suffered only apparent minor injuries to his back and legs.
The middle-age man, whose name was not immediately available, was treated at Butler Memorial Hospital.
Authorities believe the man was at the shopping plaza and out of his rig when the truck began rolling. The trailer contained unspecified merchandise.
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