A tractor-trailer hit three houses Wednesday, in Lawrence Township near the town of Clearfield in Clearfield County. The truck was headed east on Route 322 when the driver lost control. The truck cab ended up in the basement of one of the homes. The driver was hospitalized and was listed in stable condition. Some residents reported minor injuries, but they refused treatment.

CLEARFIELD — A tractor-trailer slammed into three houses early Wednesday, glancing off the first house, then hitting the second home and knocking it 12 feet into the house next door.

The driver was trapped in the cab of his truck for about five hours and some residents of the homes had minor injuries, but refused treatment, said Lawrence Township Police Sgt. Mark Brooks.

The accident occurred at about 5 a.m., police said.

The truck's cab was lodged in the basement of the second house and the trailer tipped over.

It took rescue crews about five hours to free Vasile Muntean, 42, of, Phoenix, Ariz., and to stabilize one of the houses, Brooks said. Crews had difficulty removing him because one home was being supported by the truck.

"This man's lucky to be breathing air," Brooks said.

Muntean was listed in stable condition at Altoona Regional Hospital, according to the hospital.

"He may have lost his brakes or there may have been some mechanical malfunction," Brooks said. "We won't know until we investigate the truck itself."

It was too early to say if charges would be filed, he said.

Debra Harris and her neighbor Margaret O'Donnell, who live in two of the damaged homes, said they awoke to loud noise and falling debris.

Police said it would be at least a day before the wreckage could be removed.

Brooks said Muntean was on the residential street instead of I-80 because the highway had been closed by an earlier accident.