Chief Tony Trovao of Naramata Volunteer Fire Department is amazed someone wasn’t killed after a vehicle crashed into a high voltage power pole early Thursday morning.
He was even more surprised that there were only ‘bits and pieces’ of the vehicle left when his crews arrived on the scene. According to witnesses the driver managed to head off towards Penticton.
“I’ve never seen a pole that size shift that much, about eight inches, where there wasn’t a car at the bottom of it,” said Travao. “In the 22 years I’ve been doing this I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The call came in about 2:20 a.m. after neighbours in the 2100-block heard a loud ‘boom’ and came outside to see the power lines wildly arcing and a vehicle nearby.
“It (pole) was on the west side of the road that had a low-angle slope to a vineyard,” said Trovao, adding that about 17 fire crew members attended the and remained for some time to keep people away from the live wires.
READ MORE: One person taken to hospital after Penticton car crash
Looking at the debris left behind, including a Ford logo, Trovao didn’t believe the vehicle would have been able to go far.
“It also happened on one of our straightest stretches of road which is surprising,” said Trovao.
Lauren Lea of FortisBC said the incident knocked out power to over 1,000 customers as far north as Chute Lake and some spots in Penticton including the downtown area.
She added power was restored to the entire region by 8:45 a.m.
Penticton RCMP have not yet released any details on the crash, including whether or not the vehicle was located and if there were any injuries to the occupant(s).
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