Fort Smith
Sara Lasure Reports
Ferrari flattened by pickup truck
Jul 21, 2005, 10:10 AM
FORT SMITH--A Fort Smith family had their home remodeled, unintentionally, after a pickup truck landed in their garage on top of a 2000 Ferrari.
The accident happened just before four Sunday evening on Jenny Lind Road in Fianna Hills. According to the police report, the teenage driver reached for a cell phone and ran off the road and became airborne. He caused about two hundred thousand dollars worth of damage to the garage, the Ferrari, a PT Cruiser as well as 2 motorcycles.
The speed limit is posted at 30 miles per hour, but the owner of the damaged home as well as neighbors say there have been plenty of problems in the past. It's been nonstop traffic for the neighborhood with a steady stream of cars driving by to get a view of a flattened Ferrari and devastated garage.
Owner Steve Marts wasn't home at the time of the accident, but got the bad news over the phone. “I was just numb, just real numb,” Marts said.
Marts’ neighbor Glynn Craine says he's seen his share of accidents at that home. Two other separate incidents sent cars careening of the road and into the house. “I never dreamed of it when I built here,” Craine said. He's mended his mailbox three times, after cars curved off the road and onto his property. “If people would just slow down, speed kills.”
Marts says this accident won't force him out of his home. “We enjoy living there, other than that.” But it forces him to come up with some creative ways to keep it from happening again.
Marts says he's considering putting up boulders on the side of the driveway. He and his neighbor are also looking for some help from the city. They suggest more patrols for speeders and as well as some type of speed bump.