BUCKHANNON – That age-old adage “truth is stranger than fiction” proved to be, well, true on Monday.

At least that’s what mayor David McCauley thought when he got word that a City of Buckhannon garbage truck accidentally struck a parked car on West Lincoln Street in the early afternoon.

So what’s strange twist in this true tale?

The car struck by the garbage truck is actually owned by BJ Teets, who happens to be employed in the city’s waste collection department.

“Truth is stranger than fiction,” McCauley said when My Buckhannon contacted him to find out what happened. “You just can’t make this stuff up.”

McCauley said public works director Jerry Arnold informed him that the city garbage truck driver had moved over to make room for a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. When the driver did so, he accidentally hit Teets’ car, crushing its front bumper.

The mayor said while the city garbage truck didn’t sustain any damage, it will cost the city about $500 to repair Teets’ car.

“Things happen,” McCauley said. “It’s part of our cost of doing business. I marvel at, given how vast our operations are, that we don’t have more of these kinds of [accidents].”