SPEEDING TRUCK HITS JACKSON RESIDENCE

JACKSON -- The crash woke up Renda Eggimann.

"I was asleep. It was just a big crash. That is all I heard," said Eggimann after a pickup truck crashed into her home at 11:10 p.m. Sunday.

She and her family were asleep upstairs in their home at 1407 Oak when a pickup truck driven by Matt VanAmburg, 24, of Jackson ran off the road.

The pickup jumped a railroad-tie retaining wall along the driveway, crashed through the garage door, and struck Eggimann's van.

The crash cracked walls of the house.

"If the van hadn't been there, it probably would have gone all the way through the back of the house," she said.

VanAmburg was trapped in the pickup for about 45 minutes. He suffered injuries and was taken by ambulance to St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

He was reported in fair condition at the hospital Monday.

"He was conscious. You could hear him moaning and groaning," Eggimann said.

Six Jackson firefighters and three Cape Girardeau firemen responded to the scene.

Fire Chief Brad Golden said it took firefighters about 45 minutes to extricate VanAmburg. "The roof of the truck smashed down on top of him," Golden said.

Golden said the rescue marked the first use of Jackson's "Jaws of Life" extrication equipment. The equipment was included on a new fire truck that the city began using in December.

In the past, Jackson would have had to rely on the Cape Girardeau Fire Department's extrication equipment.

Golden said the equipment saved time, allowing Jackson firefighters to begin extricating the driver sooner. "I believe it really did help get care to him quicker," Golden said.

VanAmburg lived just a few streets away from the scene of the accident.

Police Chief Marvin Sides said the pickup truck, which was westbound on Oak, was speeding at the time of the accident. Tire marks extended about 90 feet on Oak Street.

Police were still investigating the accident late Monday. No charges have been filed.

Sides said police are waiting to speak to VanAmburg before deciding on whether to pursue charges.

"It could have been a lot worse," Sides said. "It was bad enough."