Truck snags powerlines, causes commotion in downtown New Phila
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (July 25, 2023) –An afternoon mishap involving a semi-truck hauling an oversized load and some powerlines brought traffic along one of the busiest streets in New Philadelphia to a standstill.
The truck apparently snagged an overhead line along East High Avenue around 12:30 pm. New Philadelphia Fire Captain Bert Snyder was standing in front of the station talking to a contractor when it happened.
“And I noticed the whole line of powerlines were rocking back and forth, and just then another car come down and said one of the power poles had been struck and was on the ground on First Drive Northeast, so I quickly hopped in my vehicle and went down to check it out.”
Snyder had to change course moments later to respond to a call about smoke inside Michael’s Restaurant.
“I turned the corner from Second Southeast onto East High and I found a semi-truck with a power line draped over it. Then I made around to First Drive Northeast and I noticed a bunch of powerlines on the ground there.”
The crew that went inside the restaurant determined the smoke was coming out of an electric panel that likely got jostled during the mishap. That part of First Drive remained closed until later in the afternoon as AEP worked to reset the lines and restore power to the affected businesses.
It happened just before shift change at the police department so we couldn’t reach the officer who filed the report to find out if the driver was in any trouble.