Wednesday in Waco, TX, two cars became tangled in phone and cable lines with live power lines hovering over them.
“There were some very dangerous moments,” bystanders said.
An 18-wheeler snagged the power lines and caused a chain reaction that brought traffic to a complete standstill.
With live wires surrounding them, several drivers were stuck in their cars for a half hour. While they waited for the all clear to step out of their line-wrapped cars, reports of how scary the ordeal was seeped out.
The truck accident happened when a semi-truck that was transporting a tall muffler ran into the overhead power lines. The four cars following the truck had no time to react.
“It made these lines like a slingshot action,” says one of the drivers, “it snapped back and completely broke off the post on the other side.”
A passenger in the same car saw the truck snag the lines and told the driver, “I told my buddy ‘watch out.’ As soon as I said that, it was already coming down.”
Multiple lines fell from the pole, wrapping around two of the cars. A Waco Police Officer said, “The cable lines and phone lines dropped, which actually ended up on top and underneath those vehicles.”
When the first driver realized what kind of danger they were in, he turned toward the driver in the car next to his. Because she was reacting with a “what do I do, what do I do?” perplexity, he quickly rolled his window down and told her to stay inside her vehicle.
A witness said that serious injury or death could have resulted if the passengers had tried to exit the vehicles with live wires on the ground.
Once the fire and electric crews could verify that the lines were indeed phone and cable lines, everyone in the cars was given permission to get out.
Crews then had to work to clear the area. Traffic was blocked for most of the rest of the day as the clearing took place. This type of accident is unusual in Queens or Staten island.
When negligence causes damages to you or a loved one, seek the expert legal counsel of a New York Truck Accident Attorney to see if the facts in your case can lead you to a compensation judgment.