Giant boulder breaks loose, crushing cars and home in Ohio

A giant boulder measuring 25 feet in diameter broke free from a southeast Ohio hillside Tuesday night, crushing two vehicles and part of a house with a family inside.

No one was injured when the boulder and debris came crashing down at about 10:30 p.m., although it knocked over several utlity poles and damaged an underground water line, The Associated Press reported.

The family living in the house was home, but in an area that wasn't damaged, Andy Stone, the city's engineering and public works director, told the Athens Messenger.

Family members and residents of a neighboring home were evacuated until crews could evaluate the hillside's integrity, according to the AP.

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

"I sensed the pop and a flash of light, which I think was the transformer going, and I figured it was lightening," Michael Weisner, who owns the property from which the boulder fell, told Columbus TV station WBNS. "I figured it was lightening and I'd wake up in the morning and figure out the weather."

Tim and Diane Pfaff, who live in the crushed house, told WBNS that falling boulders are common, although normally they're about the size of a basketball.

Crews planned to start demolishing the boulder with jackhammers on Thursday. Officials said it will take at least a week to remove, WBNS reported.