US truck crashes into house and kills family

A runaway truck killed a man, woman and child in California today as it crushed their home after careering off an embankment.

A neighbour in the town of Santa Barbara named the family living as Leo Leon, a 23-year-old chef, his wife Lorena, 27, and their seven-year-old son. The family had moved to the US from Oaxaca, Mexico, about five years ago.

Police said the truck's brakes failed as driver Joaquin Garcia Morales along State Highway 154 at 50mph, about 75 miles north of Los Angeles.

Witnesses reported seeing smoke under the truck as Mr Morales drove and through two intersections, hitting two parked cars before plunging down a drive on to the house.

Erasmo Zapien, 64, who lives next door to the destroyed home, said he heard an enormous crash then saw the house collapse. "Everything fell down," he said. "It was completely down."

California highway patrol officer Jeremy Wayland said the cause of the crash was thought to be "mechanical or operational failure". Mr Morales escaped with a minor cut to his face.