Man drives truck into side of garage

A Dayton man told deputies he fell asleep at the wheel, driving through two yards before veering into a third yard, where he struck the side of a home and ended up in the garage.

Lt. Ray Saylo said Ajay Basu, 74, was unhurt in the 1:30 p.m. accident at the corner of North Mountain and Wagner streets in west Carson City.

"He went through a rose bush, hit the stop sign, took out a planter and a pear tree before crossing the street," Saylo said.

By the time police arrived, Basu had climbed from the wreckage and kicked out a fence to escape the back yard. The front passenger tire and hood of Basu's 2005 Toyota Tundra teetered atop a juniper bush and fencing where it then punctured the side of the attached garage at 2601 N. Mountain St.

Homeowner Tina Hascall was called to the scene by police. Hascall's first concern was to remove accident debris from her backyard pond and then, with the help of her father, begin to empty her garage of its contents.

Hascall said the truck shoved a workbench into a freezer, which was then shoved three feet in front of the garage's back door. The impact of the crash also appeared to have knocked the entire garage from its foundation.

Across the street from the Hascalls, homeowner Larry Goldman, whose pear tree and planter fell victim to the errant truck, admitted he got off easy.

"It's a good thing our cars weren't in the driveway," he said. "We're lucky. We're definitely lucky."

Saylo said about 10 calls came into dispatch following the crash.

A street crew was called to the scene to reinstall the destroyed stop sign on the southwest corner of Mountain and Wagner.

Saylo said Basu will likely be cited.

• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.