Brockville Ontario - A driver-less flatbed truck shot out of control down East Market Street Friday morning, leaving onlookers aghast and narrowly avoiding a catastrophe.
 
"This could have been much worse," said Brockville Fire Captain John Paul as he surveyed the scene moments after the accident.
 
Paul said the SMS Rents truck "took off" down the street after the driver unloaded a mobile lift for window-washers at City Hall shortly after 09:00.
 
The truck narrowly missing parked vehicles before coming to a stop with the front end of the cab hanging over the retaining wall for the Brockville Railway Tunnel.
 
Paul said there was potential for disaster if people had been walking by the area when the truck came down the street.
 
"Thank God it didn't hit anybody," said Paul.
 
"There were no injuries but there could have been somebody walking by with their dog when this came through."
 
He said damage was limited to the undercarriage of the cab including a diesel fuel tank on the driver's side.
 
Firefighters stayed on the scene armed with absorbent material in case of a diesel spill until the vehicle was removed.
 
Ultimately, that was not required, noted a thankful Captain Paul.
 
He said another concern is the amount of damage done to the historic retaining wall of the railway tunnel which underwent a comprehensive upgrade that included re-pointing in recent years.
 
The cab of the truck slammed down on the top of the wall as the wheels went over the edge, coming to a sudden stop atop the structure.
 
The impact caused some mortar to fall out between stones that were re-pointed two years ago and appeared to leave a crack on the flat surface at the top of the wall.
 
The driver of the vehicle, whose name was not released by city police, was charged under the Highway Traffic Act with failing to take precautions to ensure the vehicle would not be set in motion.
 
Acting Sgt. Patti Murphy said police noted there was a significant amount of damage done to the retaining wall.
 
Two window-washers at the scene said the incident was something they had never seen before and they were relieved the situation came to a quick end without injuries or worse damage.
 
"There was nothing to stop it. When it hit the wall, that was when it stopped, and it was a good thing, otherwise it would have been in the water," said Darren Lee.
 
Lee suspected the vehicle was not left in park or may have slipped out of gear after the lift was taken off the flatbed.
 
Added colleague Tom Fawcett:  "When they took the weight off the truck, boom, it just rolled down the hill. I hope the driver doesn't get into too much trouble because he's our delivery guy."
 
City officials were not immediately available to comment about the extent of the damage to the retaining wall.
 
Brockville Collision owner Jamie Topping and operator Dan Verburg helped pull the vehicle off the retaining wall with the help of a front-end loader from KD Construction.
 
Verburg said the truck was stuck with its wheels more than halfway over the wall and a lift was needed by the loader to allow the vehicle to be freed.
 
"After he took the load off the wall and everything was in place, it went pretty smoothly," he said.

Nick Gardiner.