A box truck careened off Route 35 in Point Pleasant Beach on Friday, crashing into a gym and then a council member's front yard.
It happened around 2 a.m. along Route 35 South. The impact briefly knocked out power to several towns - and took out the Vive Fitness gym's transformer. The box truck ended up hitting two vehicles parked at Council Member Caryn Byrnes' home.
"I heard a big boom and saw a huge flash…glanced up and was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I thought I was done," said neighbor Tom Costa who woke up from the sounds of the impacts.
Witnesses say the driver was not seriously hurt. He was alert and talking to police, despite a two-by-four impaling the windshield inches from his head.
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"I run downstairs and I'm like, ‘OK, my house didn't get hit, so what did?’ And I look out the window and see a truck in my neighbor's yard. It was insane," said Savannah Costa, who heard the crash and watched from her bedroom window.
Vive Fitness was expected to reopen at some point Friday evening once a generator arrives. The impact destroyed the transformer which powers the facility.
"If you look at where the transformer is positioned, where it relates to the highway, you would never think a vehicle would end up hitting it," said Vive Fitness general manager Dan Manson.
No word on what caused the crash as Point Pleasant Beach police continue to investigate.