A pickup truck crashed into a wall in The Villages waking up a couple who thought it was thunder.
The pickup crashed into the wall at about 3:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Heritage Villas in the Village of Bonnybrook.
Larry and Linda Johnson were fast asleep when the truck struck the wall behind their home at 2015 Avery Place.
They initially thought they’d been awakened by a thunderstorm.
When they began to investigate, they found the wall had crumbled when the truck crashed into it. Dust and debris from the wall found its way into the birdcage on the back of their villa. The home was not damaged, though some palm trees had some bark scraped off by the truck hitting the wall.
The driver of the truck apparently lost control of the vehicle in the roundabout on Buena Vista Boulevard, behind the Johnson’s home. The truck left tires track across the grass before it crashed into the wall. The driver fled the scene on foot.
Larry Johnson said The Villages Public Safety Department, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and Community Watch all responded to the scene.
“They really got here quick. They did a good job,” he said.
He and his wife purchased the villa in 2004 and are its original owners. They moved to The Villages from Michigan.