We here in Darwin had some today!
A HUGE truck hit a CHILD-CARE CENTRE, and NO-ONE was hurt!
I'll quote, I'm not sure the local news-link will work o/s.
"Childcare close call
ANNIE SANSON
February 19th, 2010
NEAR DISASTER: The semi stopped in the childcare centre sandpit. The driver had been trying to reverse the truck into the shed in the background. Picture: JUSTIN SANSON
IT WAS a miracle no children were killed when a semi-trailer ploughed into a Darwin childcare centre yesterday, witnesses said.
The driver had been trying to reverse the semi-trailer into a building across the road from the ABC childcare centre on Bishop St, Woolner, when its brakes failed.
One of the truck's wheels, bigger than an average three-year-old, came to rest in the sandpit where children would usually be playing.
The truck's distressed driver told the Northern Territory News he tried to dive between the truck and trailer to lock the brakes but was unable to do so and couldn't stop his vehicle from rolling across the road.
"I tried to dive between the truck and the trailer, but it didn't work.
"I'm glad there were no children around and nobody got hurt," the driver said.
After rolling downhill across the road, the truck knocked over a fence and a tree next to the children's playground in the centre's front yard and came to rest on a shade structure, metres away from the centre building filled with children.
Senior Constable Mark Nancarrow said it appeared the trailer's airbrake system had not been hooked up to the truck properly, causing the vehicle to roll backwards.
"The driver wanted to reverse into a building across the road to unload his truck, but insufficient air in the braking system didn't let the vehicle stop," he said.
"He crossed the road, knocked over a fence and a tree, before the truck stopped."
A roadworthy check on the vehicle, owned by Winnellie-based Nedboh Transport, was conducted at the scene by MVR inspectors and the driver was breathtested.
Police said he will be issued an infringement notice for driving without due care.
"It is the driver's responsibility to ensure his vehicle is roadworthy and it appears the braking system was not hooked up properly," Sen-Const Nancarrow said.
"It is incredibly lucky that no children were present in the yard at the time, as it was still during the centre's reception time.
"All the children and their parents were inside the building.
"A little bit later, when children were in the yard, and it could have been quite nasty.
"It looks really bad, but it was just a straightforward accident."
One of the truck's wheels knocked over a toy oven before it stopped in the children's sandpit.
The truck came to rest about 10m from the building.
The shaken driver said the incident had put a dampener on his 50th birthday. "What a bad start to a day, especially when it's your birthday," he said.