Bad Housekeeping: 14-Ton Runaway Street Sweeper Plows Into Sparta Home

A runaway street sweeper caused significant damage to a Lake Mohawk home Monday morning, while the driver suffered a knee injury chasing after the 14-ton vehicle, Sparta Police said.

According to Sgt. John-Paul Beebe, a Lake Mohawk Country Club Department of Public Works employee accidentally dislodged the street cleaner's emergency brake by placing a backpack leaf blower in the vehicle's cab at about 9:15 a.m.

The 28,000-pound truck, which had been parked on a hill, rolled approximately 150 feet down the incline, swerved left across the roadway, struck a mailbox and then went down an embankment into the side of the home, Beebe said.

The DPW employee, Robert A. Meng, 48, of Dingman's Ferry, Pa., injured his knee while chasing after the truck, Beebe said. The Sparta First Aid Squad transported him to Newton Medical Center for treatment.

No one was home at the time of the crash and there were no other injuries, according to Beebe. The residence sustained "extensive" damage," Beebe said.

Hayden's Towing Service, of Sparta used a heavy duty wrecker to remove the street cleaner from the scene. 

The Sparta Police Department, fire department, first aid squad, Lake Mohawk Department of Public Works, the Sparta Building Department, JCP&L and Sparta Tree Service all responded to the scene.

The incident remains under investigation.