A pickup truck with a mechanical failure struck a gas meter, which led to the evacuation Thursday morning of an apartment complex near 29th Avenue and Mt. Barton Place in Meridian.

The Meridian Fire Department and the Meridian Police Department evacuated the first four units of the Mt. Barton complex around 8 a.m., citing concerns about a gas leak.

“The gas is heavy and it’s not very windy today so we were fortunate and only had to evacuate the first four,” Meridian Police Capt. John Griffith said.

Griffith said the northbound truck had a mechanical failure, possibly a bent wheel rim, and went onto the sidewalk, crossing Mt. Barton Place and reportedly hitting a resident’s car before striking the natural gas meter and lamp post.

The meter sat in the yard of a home just before the 29th Avenue bridge over the Sowashee Creek. Emergency responders closed the bridge during the evacuation.

The truck had a deflated rear passenger tire and a displaced rod following the accident.

By 8:30 a.m., Atmos Energy arrived to turn off the gas and residents returned to their homes.

The driver suffered no injuries and assisted the unmarked wrecker with the truck recovery.

“I was asleep and I didn’t know what they were talking about,” Ja’well Scarbrough, who lives in the home at the intersection, said about the evacuation.

Scarbrough said the driver hit her parked vehicle and damaged it.

Atmos Energy workers at the scene explained to some residents that the disconnected gas meant hot water heaters wouldn’t work Thursday morning. They said they couldn’t estimate when a fix would come, because a worker would have to individually go to each home for checks.

The complex has 13 buildings with at least 26 units. The meter supplied natural gas to the entire complex, according to the workers.

The workers told residents, however, it was a good thing the accident hadn’t created a spark. Natural gas has a limited flammability but could be combustible when mixed with air and exposed to an ignition source, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.