CENTER TOWNSHIP (KDKA) – A 16-year-old from Hopewell survived an accident Tuesday morning after rolling his pickup truck.

The young man was apparently on his way to school when he lost control. People whose cars and property he hit said the wreck was bad, but not unexpected.

A typical morning for Jennifer Flannery of Center Township changed in an instant.

“I heard a bang and my first instinct was kids, kids, kids. So, I ran to my kids,” Flannery said.

Her kids were inside her Brodhead Road home and were just fine. The same could not be said for the driver of the pickup truck.

“He hit the gravel, somehow lost control, got launched in the air, took out our retaining wall, our mailbox, their mailbox. If that pine tree wasn’t there, he would have kept spinning,” Flannery said.

There is never a good time for a crash like this, but timing is everything. In this case, a few seconds made a big difference.

Shortly before the teen and the truck careened out control, a school bus picked up two students.

“I heard a tremendous crash and I came running outside with no shoes on. I saw this truck sideways against this tree and I prayed to the Good Lord that my daughter wasn’t on the other side of that truck,” Concezio Lalama said.

His daughter was on the bus that had just left the area.

There’s a decorative retaining wall in front of the house where the accident happened. The wall is not there by mistake. It was put there to do a specific job and it did just that Tuesday morning.

“If that wall wasn’t there, he would have been in my living room, on top of my children,” Flannery said.

This latest crash is only one in a series. Flannery said she’s frustrated and wants something done to slow people down.

So far, it hasn’t worked and after this latest crash, moving is becoming a serious option.

The name of the young man is not known. Despite the violent wreck, he is expected to be okay.

Police are continuing to investigate the accident.

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