PENDLETON, Ore. — An Oregon couple took it all in stride as they watched the demolition of a house they owned for nearly 30 years.
Brent Merriman told the East Oregonian newspaper that he and Michele Lowary moved out of the house and rented a place across the street last year after a worker accidentally dumped 150 gallons of diesel into their basement.
On Friday, Merriman and Lowary watched as workers in two excavators smashed their home in Pendleton and dropped chunks of it into a semitrailer.
Merriman said the materials filled two trailer loads on Thursday, the first day of the demolition.
A Pendleton Grain Growers employee made the mistake Nov. 24. A spokeswoman for the agricultural co-operative said after the incident that the driver was confused about where to deliver the fuel. The house used heating oil some years ago, and the driver pumped the diesel into the basement.