Mail carrier injured when truck hits house

FLORENCE - Letters, magazines and packages lay scattered in the front yard at 378 Kingston Drive on Friday, the debris left behind when a mail carrier's truck crashed into the front of the house.

Fay Terry, a carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, was taken to Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital with unknown injuries. Florence Fire Chief Charles Cochran said Terry was pinned in her truck for about 15 minutes before firefighters cut her free.

Speaking from the hospital, acting Florence Postmaster Ricky Brewer said Terry was awake and alert about three hours after the accident, though doctors still needed to perform X-rays.

Terry was unconscious when taken from the mail truck, and firefighters said it appears she was not wearing a seatbelt when she crashed into the house.

Mark Moates said his wife and two children were home when the accident happened. He said they were scared but unhurt.

Moates arrived home at 3:28 p.m., only a few minutes after Terry struck the house. He found the woman under the dashboard.

"I hope she's all right," he said.

The crash crushed the truck's front end, ripping away the bumper and shattering front and side windows. The force of the accident tore away brick from the house, cracked the mortar in the vestibule and separated a front window from its framing.

"She hit so hard ... that interior wall is knocked in," Moates said. "She was running at a high speed."

Moates' house sits in the curve of a cul-de-sac. Terry's truck left two tire tracks from the street, through the front yard and straight into the house. Police and firefighters were unsure whether she tried to slow down before the accident.

Moates said the damage would cost "several thousands" to repair.

Officials are investigating whether Terry was having trouble before crashing. A mailbox was knocked over at another house about two blocks away. Florence Police Sgt. Phil Moss spoke with a witness who saw the mail truck pulling away from that house but did not see the truck hit the box.

Jason Harris can be reached at 740-5757 or jason.harris@timesdaily.com.