Gibbons home withstands another onslaught

RENO - It's been a tough week for the Reno home of Rep. Jim Gibbons and his wife, state Assemblywoman Dawn Gibbons.

On Tuesday, the home in southwest Reno escaped damage when the Arrowcreek fire reached the backyard.

Thursday, the home was assaulted by a runaway frontloader that rumbled down a hill from a neighbor's construction site.

''It seems one crisis always follows another,'' Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., told the Reno Gazette-Journal from Philadelphia, where he and his wife were attending the Republican National Convention.

''I'm just waiting for the other shoe to fall.''

Construction workers were refueling the frontloader when its brakes failed, Gibbons said.

As it sailed out of control down the hill, the driver jumped out, breaking bones in his shoulder and hand, according to the Washoe County Sheriff's Office.

The frontloader crashed through the wall of the Gibbons' garage, puncturing the roof and sending shelves full of paint and other materials flying onto the floor.

Authorities said a Chevrolet Suburban parked inside was unscathed, but paint splashed onto the 1981 Mercedes Benz.

The machinery, which was still wedged in the garage early Friday, caused extensive structural damage, authorities said.

''We don't know how we are going to get the backhoe out of the garage,'' Gibbons said. ''Then we need to assess the damage and start working with the insurance agents.''