MEADVILLE — A 1,500-pound wrecking ball broke loose from a crane cable and raced downhill, smashing into several cars and injuring three people before coming to rest in the trunk of a car at an intersection Monday.

The wrecking ball, about 3 feet in diameter, was being used to demolish part of a library at Allegheny College when the cable snapped, police said. The crane operator tried unsuccessfully to stop the ball.

The ball rolled nearly three-quarters of a mile downhill from the college and damaged vehicles as it bounced from curb to curb, police said.

More than a dozen vehicles were damaged, police said. Most of the damaged vehicles were parked, but the wrecking ball slammed into the rear of Alex Habay's car stopped at an intersection, causing a chain reaction accident with two other cars at the traffic light, police said.

"All of a sudden the back windshield exploded and I hit the car in front of me," said Habay, 20, of Hampton Township, Allegheny County, who is a junior at Allegheny College. "I thought a car hit the back of me, but when I turned around, I couldn't see anything."

POLAND, Ohio — The family of a Pennsylvania doctor whose wife plotted to kill him along the Ohio Turnpike said Monday they're satisfied with his wife's conviction and want to focus on creating a legacy for Dr. Gulam Moonda."I'm relieved. It's finally done," said Faroq Moonda, Dr. Moonda's nephew.Faroq Moonda, 33, said he considered Dr. Moonda his surrogate father and was very angry after his death on May 13, 2005. Last Week, Dr. Moonda's wife Donna Moonda was convicted in federal court in Akron of murder-for-hire, interstate stalking and two counts of using or carrying a firearm in the commission of a violent crime.Dr. Moonda's family is establishing a trust fund in his name to help students seeking a medical education, Faroq Moonda said."This is our way of fulfilling his dream," said Afreen Moonda, Faroq's wife. "Our way of saying, 'Thank you'."