Motel guest gets one-ton wake-up call

Truck roars through motel wall, stops one foot short of guest

Video: Life

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updated 11:20 a.m. ET March 29, 2008

MAGNOLIA, Arkansas - Blake Icenhower got a one-ton wake-up call.

As the 19-year-old lay in bed Friday morning at a hotel, co-worker Hoby Armstrong went outside to start his Dodge diesel truck. Armstrong said he started the engine and stepped out of the cab.

That's when the lifted truck roared through the motel's brick-and-mortar wall, pushed aside a bed and went toward Icenhower. Icenhower said Armstrong was able to jump back into the cab and stop the truck a foot away from hitting him.

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Armstrong suffered a scrape to his arm.

If the truck had struck two brick support beams less than five feet away, the top floor might have collapsed, motel owner Ken Patel said.