Trish Bennett, Editor
ASHVILLE – A mishap with a semi truck and low-hanging utility lines knocked out power, cable and phone service to more than 2,000 village residents Tuesday afternoon, but service is being restored as quickly as possible, according to Chief Doug Clark, Ashville Police Department.
The semi’s driver, Roy Wentz of Indiana, was attempting to detour around construction on state Route 752 at the railroad underpass about 2:07 p.m. when the accident occurred, Clark said.
“He came off of Ashville Pike and got down there and realized he couldn’t get through,” Clark said. “So he backed up and thought he’d turn around.”
Clark said Wentz made a turn onto Poplar Street, then onto Hall Street, attempting to come out onto Long Street, but the truck snagged low-hanging utility lines and pulled them down, along with three utility poles.
Officer Don Mayse said he watched the accident happen from the parking lot at The Savings Bank on Route 752.
“I watched him go through there, and all of a sudden those poles just started exploding,” Mayse said.
No injuries were reported, and Mayse said Wentz will not be cited for the accident.
Lisa Hooker, spokeswoman for South Central Power Company, said power was disrupted to 2,034 customers at the time of the accident. By 4:30 p.m., the online system showed just three customers remained without power on Tuesday.
“They were working around it to get people back on by redirecting power,” Hooker said.
Crews from South Central Power, Verizon and Time-Warner remained on the scene late Tuesday afternoon repairing the damage.
“The response was very quick,” Mayse said. “We had live lines down until they arrived on the scene, but everyone got here right away and started working.”
This video of the accident scene is provided courtesy of Michael W. Moore:
Semi Tractor Trailer Accident Pulls Down 3 Utility Poles in Ashville, Ohio – 09/01/15 from Michael Moore on Vimeo.
This article originally appeared on The Pickaway News Journal
