Round Lake Beach apartments inaccessible after truck wrecks stairs

Two second-story units at an apartment building in Round Lake Beach were left inaccessible Thursday after a rental truck smashed the stairs leading to their entrance.

The apartments' residents were not home at the time and no one was injured in the crash, officials said.

Greater Round Lake Fire Protection District Chief Greg Formica said the truck had already been moved when his department arrived on the 900 block of Cedar Lake Road just after 12:02 p.m. But the signs of destruction were clear: The wooden staircase and porch that lead to the second-story units were badly damaged and there were concerns that it would fall.

Formica said fire officials called in a structural collapse team from Lake & McHenry County Specialized Response. The team analyzed the damage and came up with a plan to safely take down parts of the staircase that were still standing.

"The U-Haul had hit all of the supporting framing, so we had to take it all off the building," Formica said.

Formica said after some hard work, the broken stairs were removed without any injuries. He said the last crew left the scene at 2:20 p.m.

Round Lake Beach Police Deputy Chief Michael Scott said because the crash happened in the apartment building's driveway and not on the roadway, police did not ticket the driver.

Formica said his crews will be back on the scene Thursday evening when residents of the two second-floor apartments return. The residents will have to live somewhere else until a new set of stairs is built.

"We'll help them get stuff they need," Formica said, adding they would probably use regular ladders but might use the ladder truck.