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Over the Edge By JAKOB SCHILLER

Tuesday April 05, 2005

A hydraulic crane pulled a runaway construction truck out of the side of a house in the Berkeley hills Monday afternoon. No one was in the house when the driverless vehicle went barreling into the side of the structure. The 17,000-pound truck held equipment for a crew that was re-paving part of a private driveway about 100 feet up the hill. Although Berkeley police found that the parking brake was engaged and the truck was in gear, it managed to roll several feet before it went over a curb and into the house. Neighbors on the two streets below the house were evacuated until the truck was pulled out. One room of the house was destroyed. The damage was estimated at $50,000 to $100,000..