One person was killed and at least seven were injured when a runaway tractor-trailer careening down East Hill crashed into Simeon’s restaurant Friday afternoon in downtown Ithaca. The driver of the truck sustained superficial injuries and was being questioned at Ithaca police headquarters, police said Friday. A lot of people ran to try and help, to see what they could do,” she said. Howe said the experience was traumatizing but was heartened he was not alone in rushing into the restaurant to help the victims. “I saw the building come down on top of it, collapse on top of it,” he said of the truck. It’s beautiful land, it’s historic, but safety is our number one priority right now. A hospital spokesperson said seven injured people had been admitted. Police have confirmed one person was killed in the crash and three were sent to the hospital. “I don’t want to say this frequently happens, but this isn’t the first time we’ve had a horrible accident of this magnitude here,” Pou said.
– A tractor-trailer carrying cars slammed into a restaurant in Ithaca, NY, yesterday, killing one person and injuring seven others, reports the Ithaca Journal. The driver survived, and the investigation is continuing into what happened. A witness tells the newspaper that the truck didn't sound its horn as it came barreling down East Hill and that she heard no screeching brakes before impact. The Ithaca Voice talks to another witness, one of a number of pedestrians who had to jump out of the truck's way. "Thank God I'm here today," he says. Ithaca is home to both Cornell and Ithaca College. (It's the second high-profile tractor-trailer accident this month, the other being the crash that critically injured Tracy Morgan. He's since been moved to rehab.)