Driver Steers Runaway Truck Away From People, Is Killed
A 64-year-old truck driver was killed Tuesday after the brakes of his loaded dump truck failed and he maneuvered the runaway vehicle down a steep hill in Pacific Palisades--avoiding several people--before slamming into a tree.
“There’s no doubt that truck driver is a hero,” said a carpenter who witnessed the accident. “His family should know that he did all he could.”
Henry Frazier, a self-employed hauler, had just picked up a load of dirt at a construction site atop Lachman Lane and started down to Sunset Boulevard when the truck went out of control, reaching speeds of up to 70 m.p.h. as he honked frantic warnings and swerved around people, including several children, and automobiles, witnesses said.
After hitting a concrete block wall and shoving a parked car into its garage, Frazier crashed into a large tree at 1103 Lachman, spilling the load of dirt onto the house’s front porch and entryway, witnesses said. The occupants were not at home.
Frazier, who lived with his wife on Longwood Avenue near downtown Los Angeles, was a deacon in St. Paul Baptist Church.
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