Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Falling tree kills driver
Harsh weather causes accidents and power outages across county
CALN >> A driver was killed during a rainstorm when his vehicle was struck by a falling tree on Monday morning, according to the Caln Township Police Department.
Caln police responded at 7:38 a.m. for the report of a single-car accident on North Caln Road. The driver traveled south when a large tree fell and hit the roof of the car. Police identified the driver as Eggie Rivera, 40, of Kennett Square.
Crews from Thorndale Volunteer Fire Department and the Coatesville Veterans Affairs (VA) Fire Department stabilized the overturned vehicle and extricated Rivera. He was transported to Paoli Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
North Caln Road was closed for several hours to allow PennDOT (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) to clear the roadway.
The Chester County Department of Emergency Services reported that about 13,000 cus-
tomers were without power in the morning and by 3:30 p.m. there were 3,385 customers still without power. It also reported that there were numerous road closures due to trees down and wires down throughout the county, caused by heavy winds. It noted the “major blockage” in the afternoon was on Route 322 (Downingtown Pike) between Hall and Shadyside roads in West Bradford for a commercial building fire at Sabatino’s Grill involving downed wires.
Building resident John Kelly said the wire had fallen at noon across Route 322, and he notified PECO at about 3 p.m. that the wire began to arc. Fire police were requested to that area for wires down. Shortly after that, the West Bradford Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched at 3 p.m. for a commercial building fire.
West Bradford Fire Chief Jack Law III said he was in the area when fire police where requested and saw that the wires began to arc in the roadway. Law said the wires then began to arc at Sabatino’s Grill at 901 Boot Road where the fire began. He said it ignited where power service enters the building. Firefighters had secured the power and PECO responded to the incident to secure the line. When the building was secured for their safety, the firefighters checked the building for extension of the fire, and reported that there was no fire inside the building.
Minquas and Alert of the Downingtown Fire Department; Fame Fire Company and First West Chester of the West Chester Fire Department and Good Fellowship Ambulance assisted the West Bradford Fire Department.
The storm kept emergency responders busy throughout the county on Monday.
Early Monday morning a motorist driving north on Ship Road in West Whiteland had a tree fall on her Jeep Liberty as she was traveling north in the 1400 block of Ship Road. She was shaken up, but not injured. West Whiteland police said she was lucky power lines absorbed most of the impact.
A school bus in Malvern was reported to have been stuck on King Road between two separate downed power lines shortly after 8:30 a.m. Crews were able to safely move the bus clear of the incident.
Goshen and Good Will firefighters responding to a call on Larch Lane in East Goshen at about 1:45 p.m. were impeded from the roadway when a tree blocked access to the home. Crews instead used Pine Rock Road and stretched hose lines through a backyard to reach the garage fire, which was in a home without power. Crews were able to put the fire under control in about 10 minutes.
Visit Daily Local News staff writer Ginger Rae Dunbar’s blog about journalism and volunteering as a firefighter at FirefighterGinger. blogspot.com.