It was a close call for a homeowner in Raymond, Maine, Thursday night when a pickup truck hauling a trailer went crashing through his front door.
The crash happened at about 6 p.m. on North Raymond Road while Matthew Valcancick was feet away from his front porch.
“I just heard a massive thud,” recalled Valcancick. “I felt the house vibrate.”
Valcancick rushed outside to find the truck driver walking around, a bit disoriented. What was an enclosed porch was reduced to rubble and items like a bookshelf and desk were mangled in the wreckage.
Valcancick said he is amazed that the driver walked away and he wasn’t hit.
“I was actually going to move my office out there from inside — so it’s a good thing I didn’t,” he said.
The driver, who the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department has identified as 53-year-old Anthony Ganem of Raymond, blamed the crash on another driver.
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Ganem told police that someone driving a red pickup truck drifted into his lane, and he had to swerve to avoid them. Ganem said it appeared that driver was operating a cell phone.
Ganem walked away with minor injuries but had major damage to his vehicle. Tire marks on the road showed how he lost control, hit a tree stump, and went into Valcancick’s house.
“It’s one of those things that always occur, and it’s a constant battle where people are just texting and driving and not paying attention,” said Valcancik.
The Sheriff’s Department is now trying to locate the other driver involved in the incident. They are asking any witnesses who may have seen someone driving a red pickup truck in the area of North Raymond Road to come forward.
Valcancick is in the process of going through his insurance company to repair the porch. He hopes other people see the damage to his home and decide to drive safer.
