BREAKING NEWS: Congress St 7-11 truck crash

A truck from DS Foundations Incorporated carrying metal racks full of heavy plywood foundation wall forms crashed into a parked car and the corner of the brick building at 696 Congress Street just before 9:00am on Sunday, September 12, 2010. Previously the truck had lost a portion of its load at the end of Valley Street, near the Veterans Bridge between Portland and South Portland, which as late as 11:40am was being supervised by a Portland Police vehicle after it was abandoned at the side of the road.

People at the scene stated that witnesses of the crash apprehended someone exiting the truck when he attempted to flee the scene.

At the scene, fire officers and police officers had strung caution tape around the 7-11 convenience store, and were supervising the removal of the truck and the bulk of its load of plywood foundation forms, which had toppled off the truck bed along its path to destruction.

Above, fire and police personnel consult near the scene of the accident. Concern was expressed over the worrying possibility that the structural integrity of the Congress Street apartment building had been compromised by the impact.

More photos from the scene are available for viewing here on my Flicker site:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/darkbrilliance/sets/72157624815359789/with/4983339276/

Above, the DS Foundations truck is towed away. A number of heavy duty trucks from Stewart's Towing were on the scene, as well as a smattering of trucks from other towing companies, as the wrecked truck's cargo had to be parceled out due to its heavy weight. You can clearly see where the truck impacted the building and crushed its fender at the center. The windshield is also cracked.

UPDATE:

WCSH-6 was on the scene, and reports that Arthur Lariviere of Portland was put into custody at the Cumberland County Jail after stealing the truck from a construction site on Danforth Street. "Lariviere crashed into a car in the parking lot of the 7/11 on Congress Street in Portland around 8:45 AM Sunday. The truck pushed the car forward, then veered off and slammed into another car. The second car was crushed - pinned between the truck and the building at 696 Congress street."

[Source: http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=127688&catid=2]
Video and photos available on the WCSH website as linked above!