Visalia family experiences close call when a truck crashes into home

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Visalia police say a box truck going west on Riggin Avenue did not slow down in time for a vehicle turning in front of it, clipped that car, and then hit Andrade's house, specifically his sister's bedroom. She was inside sleeping when it happened.

"The truck had hit her bed and wedged her bed between the truck and the door so they couldn't open the door to get her out through the house, so she had to come out through the window."

Andrade says she has some neck and back pain and a lump in her head. Had it not been for the bed's headboard, he says, the truck would have hit her head straight on.

The scene may have been surreal, but Andrade cannot say it was a complete surprise. He's seen numerous crashes in front of their house in recent years. Some cars have made their way into his yard, but none had actually touched his house until Monday.

He says school children sometimes cross the street too and feels it's just a matter of time before an accident here is a fatal one.

"It's an intersection that we are concerned about. We are closely monitoring it, it is on our radar, it is something that we haven't forgotten about," Blair said.

Visalia Civil Engineer Leslie Blair says the city has received a handful of calls about safety issues at the intersection of Riggin and Giddings.

Right now, she says it does not meet the criteria, including traffic volume, for a traffic signal or four-way stop but believes it could eventually.