A logging truck smashed through their building. Now they're struggling to rebuild their lives
CBC
Last month a logging truck came crashing into Katherine Palmer's apartment building.
"It was the scariest night of my life," said Palmer.
It happened on Oct. 24 around 1 a.m.
She remembers hearing the popping explosion of an electrical transformer a split second before the logging truck careened through the building below her.
"I heard him hit the house and I thought there was an earthquake."
The single mom said she raced to ensure her five-year-old was OK. Then she looked outside to see a large transport truck had lodged itself into the apartments below hers.
The impact scattered siding and insulation throughout her yard and twisted the building's frame.
"My neighbour was at her door with her two babies, screaming," said Palmer. "They were trapped in their apartment. The door had shifted and they couldn't get out, so I busted their door down."
No one was killed that night, but every day since has been a struggle for the 12 people who once lived there.
Palmer says she lost nearly everything she owned that night. When daylight came she was able to get back inside to gather up some clothes and find her son's baby book. She was also able to find her cats, and they all moved into her parents' place.
"Red Cross showed up the next day," said Palmer. "There was nothing they could do. The trucking company hasn't reached out, and I did get my damage deposit back from my landlord, but that was it."
But despite that, Palmer considers herself lucky to have since found a new apartment nearby.
Andrea Munn also feels she's been lucky. When that logging truck hit the building, it drove her living room into her ceiling. It was her front door that Palmer had to kick down in order to free her, along with Munn's husband and two young children.
She said the weeks since the crash have been "day to day."
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.