WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida family was left without a place to call home after, officials said, a flatbed tow truck collided with a car and came crashing into their house, Friday afternoon.
Homeowner Barbara Rodriguez is still reeling from the sudden crash that left her residence of 15 years unfit to inhabit. “I don’t have a house now, nothing,” she said.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue responded to the scene of the accident in the area of Southwest 97th Avenue and Second Terrace, in West Miami-Dade, at around 3:30 p.m.
According to investigators, a black Mercedes-Benz sedan collided with the tow truck, sending the larger vehicle off the road, through a fence and into the back of the house. Officials said he missed a swimming pool in the backyard before the vehicle came to rest.
7Skyforce hovered above the scene as crews surrounded the tow truck. Officials said the tow truck barreled into a side wall of the residence.
The homeowner’s son-in-law told 7News he heard the crash. “I heard a loud impact, like a loud bang, so my little brother-in-law, he came to get me,” said Eric Lopez. “He’s like, ‘Hey, someone just crashed into the backyard.’ I come out and look, and I see the flatbed right back there.”
“I lost everything,” said Rodriguez. “Kitchen, bedroom, living room, floor, everything.”
Paramedics checked the drivers of both vehicles at the scene. “It looks worse than what it really was, but thankfully no one was injured,” said Lopez.
Traffic was backed up on Southwest 97th Court Circle for more than an hour as crews worked to tow away the sedan.
Engineers were brought in to examine the damage to the home. They determined the truck was holding up the roof of the house. “The way it stayed, at any time it could come down,” said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Capt. Eric Hernandez.
7News cameras captured the flatbed tow truck being brought out of the home.
The American Red Cross was called in to help Rodriguez and her family.
Despite the damage, the homeowner said she’s grateful it wasn’t worse. “No, no no, nobody was in the house when the truck came in. Thank God nobody was in the house,” said Rodriguez.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
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