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Truck Hops Curb and Knocks Down Scaffolding in Midtown

By  Trevor Kapp and Aidan Gardiner | October 8, 2014 9:09am 

 A truck crashed into a scaffold on West 38th Street.
A truck crashed into a scaffold on West 38th Street.
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DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp

MIDTOWN — A truck hopped a curb and slammed into scaffolding early Wednesday morning, sending debris cascading onto West 38th Street, witnesses said.

The truck hit the structure in front of 140 W. 38th St. near Broadway shortly after 6 a.m., causing a 65-foot section of scaffolding to collapse into the road, officials and witnesses said.

"It sounded real loud. I snapped and started running," said Carlos Cedeno, 47, a security guard working nearby at the time.

"It just sounded like something bursting and smashing real loud. I looked and saw everything collapsing and flying all over the place."

No one was injured in the crash, an FDNY spokesman said.

Two men were inside the truck and got out after the crash, Cedeno said.

"They looked nervous, but they were walking around. They looked OK," he added.

The owner of the Staten Island-based company that operates the scaffolding, Blade Contracting, was planning to visit the crash site Wednesday morning, staff at the company said.

An NYPD spokesman did not have further information about the crash.

The Department of Buildings also issued a violation for failure to maintain the scaffold according to code. A spokesman clarified that the violation doesn't accuse the scaffolding company of any wrongdoing previous to the accident, but instead was issued to ensure a quick cleanup.