BRAD HORN/Nevada Appeal A tractor trailer is stuck on the eaves of the old Virginia & Truckee Railroad headquarters building at the corner of Carson and Washington streets on Wednesday afternoon. The building now houses the DeBug Computer Depot and is owned by the Masonic Lodge.
Onlookers didn't know what was more surprising Wednesday afternoon, that a big rig was teetering on Carson Street after hitting a building eave, or that the eave of the 134-year-old V&T Depot building appeared to be undamaged.
"That's a tough building," said Nevada Highway Patrol Sgt. R. Jackson.
The orange 18-wheel tractor trailer was resting on just 10 wheels after a rookie driver tried to make an eastbound turn onto Washington Street from Carson Street at noon. The driver cut the corner and took out a steel post then dragged the top right side of his trailer along the corner of the eave. The trailer was dented in and the eight tires of the right side were off the ground, but the eave corner had just slight damage to its shingles.
"The building shook when we were in there, but look what it did to the truck compared to the building," said Derek Degenhart, computer technician for Debug Computer Depot.
Debug receptionist Lesley Schreckengost said she was sitting at her desk near a window facing Carson Street when the accident happened.
"At first I heard what I thought was braking, and then I heard it actually hit the building," she said. "I jumped up and ran out."
Truck driver Richard S. Wible Jr., of Oceanside, Calif., told troopers he was supposed to deliver goods to a Sears store in Zephyr Cove when he realized he was going the wrong way.
Wible said he thought Washington Street would be wide enough for him to turn onto. And then he caught the eave.
"I've only been driving for two months," he told Trooper Roy Hutchings. Wible was cited for unsafe turning.
Completed in 1873, the now yellow building at 729 N. Carson St. was once the headquarters of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad. It served as a train depot until 1950. The building is owned by the Masonic Lodge.
According to city inspectors, the accident did not damage the building's structural integrity.
"I guess it says a lot for how they built buildings in the old days," said Larry Werner, city engineer.
• Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.