Runaway wheat wagon puts hole in house

ADA — Two wagons, carrying about 250 bushels of wheat each, careened into a house in the 3500 block of state Route 81 at about 11:15 a.m. Wednesday.

Jim Hall, a local farmer, said he was driving his pickup truck with wagons in tow when a clip connecting the first wagon to the truck came loose.

“Lost the clip for some reason,” he said.

Hall said he doesn’t know what caused the clip to fail; he just looked back and saw the wagons were loose.

Penny Sousley, owner of the house, said she was outside about to mow the yard when the accident happened.

“I didn’t even hear it,” she said. “The only thing I heard was, ‘shhhhhhh,’ must’ve been the wheat going out of the wagon.”

Sousley said she baby-sits and her grandchildren were also at the house, but no one was injured. Four children were at the other side of the house and the rest were outside.

“I just feel blessed because no one got hurt,” Sousley said. “That’s the main thing. Material things can be replaced.”

The wagon punctured a hole near the bedroom window on the east side of the house.

“There’s supposed to be a hole there for the window but not that big,” owner John Sousley Sr. said jokingly. He was not present when the accident happened.

The wagon also broke the gas meter, causing a natural gas leak. Penny Sousley said about a half-hour after the accident happened, Ada police officers noticed the gas leak while patrolling the area. She said they contacted the Fire Department, and the area was evacuated for about 45 minutes while the gas was shutoff.

Hall said he has known the family for years and lives nearby. He helped clean up spilled wheat using a grain vacuum to transfer it to another wagon.

“Looks like we got a little work yet to do,” Hall said.

The Hardin County Sheriff’s Office responded to the accident but no one was available to release information.