Teenager crashes truck into Poplar Bluff bedroom

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff woman escaped serious injury Thursday afternoon when a teenager suspected of huffing compressed air crashed his truck into her bedroom.

The accident happened at about 3:30 p.m. when a 16-year-old was driving a 1999 Ford pickup westbound near the 1500 block of Sylvan Drive, according to Poplar Bluff police patrolman Jeff Hovis' accident report.

The driver allegedly was under the influence of compressed air at the time his truck left the road and struck a tree and light pole, Hovis said.

The truck struck the house at 1506 Sylvan Drive and went through an outside wall and into a bedroom, Hovis said.

The truck, Hovis said, struck Sarah D. Kentner, who resided there with her parents, Russell and June Stover, and came to rest in her bedroom. About half of the truck, Hovis said, was inside the home.

The driver "exited through the passenger side of the vehicle and left the scene," Hovis said.

Hovis said June Stover described the driver as being "disoriented" and that she told him to wait there for police.

Kentner, Hovis said, reported she was sleeping in her bed when "the pickup drove through the wall" of the residence.

Hovis said a tire on the pickup struck Kentner in the head, causing swelling and bruising. Debris from the falling wall also struck the 31-year-old, causing scraping and bruising, he said.

Kentner was taken to Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center for treatment of the bruising to the left side of the body and head.

"Over the past few years, we've had several deaths from kids huffing," said Poplar Bluff police chief Danny Whiteley. "It seems the trend of late is the air duster canisters that everyone uses to clean their computers with.

"We would encourage parents and retail outlets to be on the look out for kids making multiple purchases of these and notify us of anyone they think are making purchases" of more than the normal amount.

Thursday's incident, Whiteley said, happened in a heavily populated residential area.

"We've been lucky so far no person has been seriously hurt or killed as the result of someone huffing and losing control of a vehicle," Whiteley said. "The good Lord was looking after [Kentner] or she would have been dead."

Pertinent address:

1506 Sylvan Drive, Poplar Bluff, MO