Man injured after van crashes through roof in White Oak

By Mike Darnay, Lauren Linder

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    PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (KDKA) — A man was injured and is recovering after a van slammed through the roof of a building in White Oak early Friday morning.

The crash happened along Park Way near the intersection with Senate Street in White Oak around 5:30 a.m., dispatchers told KDKA.

Cherie White and her boyfriend, Chris Manning, were sitting on the couch Friday morning, when they heard a loud noise.

“It sounded like an airplane hit the ground,” White said. “It was just terrifying.”

The van crashed through the building, a garage and warehouse that sits one block below along Congress Street.

“I saw the headlights coming down the hill like really fast,” Manning said.

Manning had a bad feeling, stepped outside, and watched as a minivan came flying down towards Park Way.

“He didn’t hit the brakes, he hit the gas. From that point on, it went real quick, until he hit this flat spot here, it sounded like his car almost exploded, and then he just like bounced off of there, into that building,” Manning said.

Without a thought, Manning ran over to help, as White called 911.

“I really didn’t think he was going to be alive in there to be honest,” Manning said.

However, Manning quickly learned the driver was conscious and talking, saying he had a broken arm.

“He said he was stuck in there, he couldn’t breathe real good. His windshield and like all the wood [were] covering his face and everything,” Manning said.

It was debris from the structure, which Manning started to remove, as he tried to keep the driver calm until first responders arrived.

“He was real tough,” Manning said.

Manning said they got there within about 10 minutes. It took about an hour to get the man out so EMS crews could transport him to the hospital.

KDKA’s news crew at the scene witnessed first responders pulling the driver.

Manning hopes the driver is okay, along with the antique cars he said are inside the garage as a part of a car club.

“You can bring your cars there and then do work on them and stuff,” Manning said.

Manning said the driver struck a living room area with a bed inside the building.

After this experience, with the hill coming down Senate Street, he and White now fear they or their neighbors could be next.

“It’s very crazy to think about, that could happen to anyone’s house, like on this street especially,” White said.

White Oak police are investigating the cause of the crash. It’s unclear whether any charges will be filed.

An aerial view of the scene from the KDKA Drone Team shows the damage left behind from the crash.

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