A HIRE truck, full of mattresses, brought down part of the canopy roof at the Kerang Valley Resort on Friday morning when the driver misjudged its height.
Fire, ambulance and State Emergency Services crews were called to the motel, where live power lines were exposed, shortly after 8am to make the scene safe and extract the vehicle.
The young driver, who had been staying at the motel, was travelling in convoy with his boss and was trying to catch up with him when he took a shortcut through the reception area.
The 29-year-old, from Melbourne, said he had only been working for the company for a few days and wasn’t accustomed to driving trucks.
“It doesn’t feel big when you’re driving it,” he said.
The two men were on their way to Lake Charm, where they were setting up a wedding.
Motel owners Dionne and Hans Krug said the noise of the truck’s impact had been shocking.
“The lady in the front room here said she fell out of bed,” Ms Krug said.
“She thought a truck was coming through her room.”
Mr Krug said he thought at first that the nearby fertiliser warehouse had exploded.
After power was disconnected and damage to the structure was assessed, the truck was removed with a tow truck.
“We let the tyres down and slowly edged the vehicle out,” Kerang Fire Brigade captain Ramon Steel said.
“It was a delicate little operation.
“If you did it the wrong way, the whole thing would’ve come down.”
Mr Steel said there was a fair amount of damage to the building.
