Truck vs. business

Owners and employees of Rykin Pump Co. Inc. are thanking their lucky stars after a black 2001 Ford F-150 plowed through the business early Wednesday morning.

"I was sitting down, just looked up and saw the truck in mid-air," Richard Rylee, co-owner of Rykin Pump Co. Inc., said. "I saw it in the air, and it was exit, stage left for me."

Amy Dennis, Rylee's daughter, said her father was calm after the wreck, but he should also be very thankful.

"If he would've been in his office a few more minutes he could've been dead," Dennis said. "He was sitting in a chair near the accident and luckily we have an employee, Curtis Choate, who was a former EMT. He jumped over the counter and moved my dad out of the way."

Dennis said their cleaning lady should enjoy the 15 minutes extra sleep she received this morning.

"She decided to sleep in and was 15 minutes later," she said. "She usually comes in at 9:30 or 10 in the morning. The first thing she does is clean the same plate glass windows that the truck drove through - so we're glad she decided to sleep in today."

While Richard Rylee was concerned about his building, he made sure the five children who were involved in the wreck were safe.

"I heard these kids crying, and I wanted to make sure they were OK," he said. "I wanted to get them out of the truck in case it caught fire. A building can be replaced."

John Rogers said the accident brought him a very exciting first day as a Rykin employee.

"I was just signing paperwork behind the counter when I saw it coming," he said. "I turned my body and it sounded like a huge explosion."

Dennis attributed the fortune of her father and others to luck but Gayle Rylee, co-owner of Rykin Pump Co. Inc., said there was somebody looking over the building.

"It was a miracle," she said. "There could have been three people injured or worse in this wreck. There were angels looking over us today."

WHAT HAPPENED?

>> Rykin Pump Co. Inc. at 2333 N Jackson Ave. had a wall of its building damaged when a 2001 Ford F-150 pickup crashed into it Wednesday morning.

>> The southbound pickup collided with a westbound 2006 Chevy Trailblazer at the intersection of Jackson Avenue and 25th Street and was knocked into the building during the collision. The driver of the Trailblazer was cited with failure stop at the stop sign. No serious injuries were reported.