Hwy. 6 closed for hours after transport takes out pole to avoid stopped fuel truck
No serious injuries, but police say incident ‘could have been much worse’
A transport truck took out a utility pole and downed power lines, temporarily trapping the truck driver and people inside a nearby gas station on Highway 6 Wednesday afternoon.
The live wires were “arcing and sparking,” following the crash after 1 p.m. on Highway 6 between Safari and Carlisle roads, said OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt.
“It could have been much worse,” he said, later adding that the truck driver, once freed, went to hospital with minor injuries.
The road was closed in both directions following the crash until about 3 p.m., when the northbound lanes reopened. The southbound lanes were closed for a few more hours for cleanup, and reopened around 7 p.m.
The crash happened as another tanker transport truck carrying fuel was attempting to turn into the nearby gas station, and had to stop because of traffic.
The driver of the other transport truck, a flatbed carrying machinery, did not appear to be paying attention to the slowed traffic, Schmidt said.
To avoid crashing head-on into the stopped fuel truck, he swerved and crashed through a ditch and into the pole.
Hydro One was called to the scene and de-energized the wires so that the transport truck driver and others, including people in the nearby gas station, could leave.
Crews worked to repair the downed wires.