ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 24, 1996 TAG: 9608260030
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
A New York man was charged with driving under the influence after the pickup truck he was driving struck a Blacksburg apartment building early Friday.
Town police said Mark Nathan Heinrich, 22, of Wading River, N.Y., was charged after they investigated a truck hitting one of the buildings at Sturbridge Square Apartments on University City Boulevard about 12:20 a.m.
The truck "knocked the supports out clear across the living room to the other side. ... You can park a semi in [there]," said Sturbridge's manager Mary Combs. "If anybody had been in there it would have killed them instantly."
A passenger, Michael David Lien, had minor injuries but refused treatment.
After being charged with DUI, Heinrich was released on a $1,000 bond, with arraignment set for Sept. 5 in the Blacksburg division of Montgomery County General District Court.
Police said the truck was totaled. A damage estimate for the building was not available, but three Virginia Tech students who lived in the three-bedroom town house that sustained damage are staying at a hotel until repairs can be made, Combs said.
The tenants, who declined a request for an interview, had just finished moving in and were out for the evening, Combs said.
A structural engineer, the town's building inspector and the apartment's insurance inspector were still conducting an investigation Friday afternoon. Combs said after that work is finished, the building would be shored up and secured for the weekend.
LENGTH: Short : 39 linesby CNB