New York City Dump Truck Crashes Through Wall, Dangles 30 Feet Above Ground

For reasons still unexplained, a city mechanic accellerated a salt-spreading truck he was operating through the wall of a Sanitation Department repair building in Queens, N.Y., Wednesday morning.

Robert Legall, 56, was trapped in the cab of the truck for half an hour while it dangled 30 feet above ground, The New York Times reported. A Fire Department spokesperson said that firefighters used a cherry picker to remove him from the truck.

Legall was inside the building for the truck's "seasonal servicing" and was driving it to the bay of the building's fifth floor for the servicing when something went wrong.

"The vehicle accelerated and, the next thing we know, was heading two-thirds of the way outside of the building," Vito Turso, a Sanitation Department spokesman, told the New York Times.

Legall suffered minor injuries to his neck and back and is in stable condition at a Queens hospital.

Mr. Turso told the New York Times that the truck is one of two that is used to plow and salt the roads on Rikers Island, and is worth $200,000. After Mr. Legall was rescued, the salt was emptied from the truck and a crane was used to pull it back into the building.

A police spokesperson said the crash was being considered an accident, and while Legall is expected to be interviewed for more information about the incident, no violations were issued.

Legall has worked for New York City's Sanitation Department for ten years.