Siblings narrowly escape when truck smashes through apartment wall

A brother and sister narrowly escaped with their lives after a pickup truck smashed through a wall and into their Idaho Falls apartment on Friday night.

Police said 34-year-old Larry Nelson crashed the truck and then fled the scene of the accident.

“All I can say is I’m glad both of us are alive and well,” said Jessica Hayes, 28.

Hayes and her 16-year-old brother were playing video games on Friday when the tail-end of a 1998 Ford pick-up came through the wall, just feet above their heads.

“I literally thought it was an explosion,” said Hayes. “I was knocked senseless for a moment.”

It took Hayes a moment to realize what had happened.

“I look up and there’s a tire whirring right next to my head, and up above is the truck bed,” said Hayes.

Other than a few crushed pieces of furniture and the odd bruise, Jessica and her brother made out pretty well.

“Both of us just ran out,” she said.

Police said Nelson ran too.

“We couldn’t find our phones, so we went to the neighbor,” said Hayes.

Hayes asked a neighbor to call 9-11, but it was too late. By the time police got to the scene, Nelson was gone.

When cops caught up to him 90 minutes later, he was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.

As lucky as Jessica feels, she said Nelson should feel pretty good, too.

“He’s lucky that we didn’t die,” she said.

“If it was any lower,” said Hayes. “I would have been gone.”

Nelson remained in the Bonneville County Jail on Sunday.

Because Hayes and her brother were hurt, leaving the scene of the accident is considered a felony offense.