ATHENS, Ohio (AP) – A boulder that broke free from a hillside in southeast Ohio has crushed two vehicles, smashed part of a house, knocked down utility poles and damaged an underground water line.

The Athens Messenger reports (
http://bit.ly/GFeNEN) no one was injured when the boulder and debris crashed down at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Athens’ engineering and public works director says the family living in the house was home, but in an area that wasn’t damaged. He says the boulder was about 25 feet in diameter.

The family and residents of a neighboring home are evacuated until crews can evaluate the hillside’s integrity.

Mary Diles, who lives nearby, says she heard the boulder break away and at first thought it was thunder, then saw sparks and thought it might be fireworks.

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Information from: The Athens Messenger,
http://www.athensmessenger.com/

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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