Amazon Truck Wreaks Havoc In Joliet Neighborhood

JOLIET, IL — Joliet police officers blocked off traffic into a southeast side neighborhood just a couple blocks from the police station after an Amazon Prime semitrailer came barreling down the street, knocking down several utility lines that then hit parked vehicles.

Several neighbors told Joliet Patch that semis are not supposed to be traveling down Dekalb Street under any circumstances.

Police spokesman Dwayne English said the Amazon semitrailer was driven by 36-year-old Orlando, Florida, resident Norman Mureithi.

Around 3:45 p.m., police were sent to West Dekalb Street and South Joliet Street for a report of a traffic collision.

The semitrailer was eastbound in the 100 block of West Dekalb Street when it struck overhead Comcast cables, causing the cables to separate from the pole, police said.

The cables then struck three unoccupied vehicles that were parked on the north side of West Dekalb Street, English told Joliet Patch. Mureithi was cited in connection with causing the crash and was released at the scene. No injuries were reported. The citation was for violating a length requirement for semis. The truck was 74 feet and the legal standard is 65 feet, English informed Joliet Patch.

Joliet resident Melissa Dibona said the Amazon semitrailer caused extensive damage to her son's special needs van.

"So now I cannot drive him to any of his functions," Dibona told Joliet Patch.

"The whole neighborhood is all in an uproar because this van wants to fly down our street. I just don't understand it. No, they're not supposed to even be coming down here. And our vehicles are parked properly ... and we come out to this havoc, it's really insane. So now I have to figure out how to get my son and his wheelchair around and figure out how to do all that, and that's very inconvenient. I have no idea how I am going to do that at this point," Dibona said.