AN out-of-control petrol tanker came within metres of smashing into a home after its brakes failed yesterday morning.
The truck was driving along Dereel-Rokewood Junction Road about 7.40am when its brakes gave way as it travelled down a hill towards an intersection.
The driver pulled off the side of the road and through the intersection, snapping a power pole clean in half.
It then missed a house on the corner by about five metres, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Live powerlines lay strewn over the road, causing an approaching log truck coming the other way to stop suddenly.
Police blocked off both Dereel-Rokewood Junction Road and Cape Clear-Rokewood Road for two hours as emergency services worked to clear the scene.
Linton police Senior Constable Tony Walker said it was lucky the truck did not collide with a car coming the other way or with the house.
“His brakes weren’t pulling him up and he was going at quite a speed,” he said.
“He was very lucky in the end. If there was another vehicle on the road at the time it would have been in a fair bit of trouble. It snapped a power pole clean from the base.
“Being a petrol tanker, he was lucky because it could have been much worse.”
CFA rescues crews were called to attend the scene but were not needed.
Power was cut off in the immediate area for three hours as Powercor worked to reconnect the fallen lines.
Police units from Bannockburn, Meredith and Linton attended the crash.
Nobody was injured.
patrick.nolan@thecourier.com.au