Truck Forces Dental Office to Open Wide

ANAHEIM — For many people, a visit to the dentist’s office can be anxiety-producing, even when everything goes well.

But for Ajay Arora of Fullerton, the anxiety was compounded Friday when an 18-wheel tractor-trailer rig plowed into the dentist’s office where he had gone for an examination.

Just after 11:30 a.m., as a dental technician was preparing him for X-rays, the electrical engineer looked out the ground-floor window and saw the truck bearing down on him.

“We saw the 18-wheeler coming at us,” said Arora, 26. “First it sounded as though someone was applying their breaks, because we heard skidding.”

What Arora did not see was a driver behind the rig’s steering wheel.

According to Anaheim Police Sgt. Lew Wuest, the unidentified driver had lost control of the vehicle and had jumped into the sleeper compartment as it headed toward several cars and the single-story building in the 300 block of North East Street.

“We just ran toward the hallway,” Arora said. “We were running so fast, but we weren’t sure we could make it. We thought it would run over us.”

As Arora and the technician ran for the back door, people in the rear of the office were taking cover, thinking an earthquake was taking place.

After totaling two cars, the truck crashed through the wall, coming to a rest three feet from where Arora had been sitting.

Police said there were no injuries or citations. The amount of damage was undetermined.