GORHAM, Maine — A truck smashed into an apartment building in Gorham Wednesday, sending two people to the hospital.
The pickup truck was traveling towards Buxton on Narragansett Street and crossed over the centerline before hitting a car traveling in the other direction, according to officials.
“The pickup truck then continued to cross the parking lot, striking a couple other vehicles and striking the building,” Gorham Police Chief Chris Sanborne said.
Six vehicles were involved in the crash.
The truck eventually smashed into the corner apartment on Narragansett Street, right through someone’s living room, leaving car parts scattered in the parking lot.
A neighbor said that the man inside the apartment was in a recliner playing video games.
Residents say he had a large cut across his forehead and fainted once outside.
The truck driver and the apartment tenant received minor injuries, police said.
The building’s owner rushed over to the scene.
“I’m devastated,” building owner Eileen Kalikow said. “I feel terrible for my tenants. I feel terrible about people having lost their places to live and most of them have been here for many years.”
Kalikow says she plans to help her injured tenant find somewhere else to stay.
As for the building, the left side staircase is unusable, blocking all access to units on the second floor.
Code enforcement and a construction company will look things over to see if it’s safe to turn the electricity back on and if the complex can stand safely after the crash.
“He just wants to make sure that the structure is safe on the corner,” Kalikow said. And that’s his major concern, where it was hit straight on. And the siding, and the bricks and everything were gone.”
The investigation continues while the owner is figuring out how to repair the building.