Runaway Van Knocks Over Driver, Crashes Into Arlington Home

ARLINGTON (CBS) – A runaway van knocked over a driver and slammed into a home in Arlington Friday morning.

The van from a chimney sweeping company was on Aerial Street around 8 a.m. when the driver stepped out without putting it into park, police said.

The van started to roll away, the driver tried to jump in and stop it, but the van knocked him over.

It then rolled 100 yards down hill through an intersection as the passenger inside the van tried to stop it.

But he pulled the wheel, according to police, forcing it to run up into a yard on Sunset Road, through some shrubs and into the front steps of a house.

The driver and passenger were taken to Mount Auburn Hospital where they were treated for what police said were non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver, a 45-year-old man from New York, was cited for failing to secure a motor vehicle when exiting.

Their names have not been made public.

The building inspector said there was no structural damage to the house.

Jonathan Gattinella was the only person inside the home at the time of the crash.

"This is truly bizarre," he told WBZ-TV.  "This is a just freak accident.  I just hope everyone is alright."