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Now, nearly a month later, the Johnsons are living in a rental home and waiting on the county's insurance company to pay the claim. On Thursday, they learned they would have to wait longer as the county's insurer received a continuance in the case.
The first-time homeowners and military couple -- he's a sergeant and drill instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and she's a sergeant at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort -- closed on the property in the Picket Fences neighborhood April 6. Nine days later, the dump truck smashed into the side of the house. By April 20, the town of Port Royal had condemned it.
"We only lived in it for around three days, but we were already fully established. All of our household goods were inside of it -- everything," said Sgt. Kristina Johnson. "We had to drive all the way back from Texas, which is like a 24-hour drive, to come back and find it like it was.
"The only thing holding up the dining room floor right now is part of the deck. They took scraps of wood to hold up the floor. That way it wouldn't give out."
While the Johnsons rushed to contact their insurance company, the county also filed a claim with its insurer the night of he accident, said Jan Watts, county director of risk management.
"We don't procrastinate when it comes to situations like that," Watts said. "We're going to treat people the way we want to be treated if it happens to us."
At a Thursday hearing, the county was granted until June 16 to complete an investigation into the accident's cause. Johnson, however, thinks officials have had plenty of time to sort things out.
"A fully loaded dump truck is driving on that highway from 45 to 55 mphand then just plows into the side of a house. The only thing that kept it from going all the way through our house was the deck," Johnson said. "I don't think they're taking us seriously. They're just being extremely difficult."
The county is self-insured through the S.C. Budget and Control Board, which contracts with third-party adjuster Southeastern Claims Services of Columbia, Watts said.
The adjuster probably will complete the investigation into the accident within the next week or so, Watts said. He would not go into detail about the ongoing case but said the insurance company has not yet made a determination because there are several factors involved in the investigation.
"We would like to take care of the parties involved as soon as possible," Watts said. "We don't like to put anybody out or put on any additional financial burden. There's no smoke anywhere with us. We're open."
Meanwhile, the Johnsons are keeping their fingers crossed and counting the days until they can move back into their home.
"Our first mortgage payment is due on the (first of June), and our insurance company only paid up to the first for the rent," she said.
