SOMERSET — Owen Kiernan said Sunday was a terrible day, when a truck plowed into his home on South Street, killing the driver and rendering the house uninhabitable — but he said an even greater tragedy was avoided. 
 

“We were extremely lucky," said Kiernan, who owns the home at 117 South St. “The fact of the matter is, it could have been 10 times worse.” 

The house is a three-unit apartment building near Pierce Beach in Somerset. Kiernan said it’s unfortunate that the driver died, but luckily no one else was harmed in the crash.

“It’s just very, very lucky that the truck didn’t create a spark or a fire,” Kiernan said. “In the basement, the gas pipe was broken off the hot water heater. ... Electrical panels were down there, as well. It’s just so lucky we didn't have an explosion.” 

Read more from Dan Medeiros at heraldnews.com.