Truck Driver Flees Scene of Accident in Massachusetts
August 4th, 2010 | 
Author: EASTHAMPTON, MA – A truck driver fled the scene after he knocked down several utility poles in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. The truck accident occurred in Easthampton, MA when the unknown semi truck driver attempted to make a U-Turn on narrow Chapel Street and the downed poles cut off power for over a hundred homes and businesses. The truck accident area is in the west central section of the state about 98 miles west of Boston, MA and about 41 miles north of Hartford, Connecticut.
After the truck accident police shut down Cottage Street between Clark and Pine Streets, and Chapel Street was also closed for the rest of the day while highway crews cleared the downed poles from the roadway and the Union Mart store.
At around noon on Friday, July 16, the truck driver was traveling on westbound State Route 141 toward the downtown section of Easthampton when the driver turned onto Chapel Street and attempted to make a U-Turn. While making the turn at the juncture of Chapel and Cottage Street the 18 wheeler truck hit the line or guy wire on a utility pole.
According to witnesses, the truck driver apparently did not realize the truck had hit a wire and the driver continued to travel down the road uprooting the utility pole that would fall on the Union Mart store. The semi truck also pulled down an electrical transformer on Chapel Street and cut off the top section of another utility pole at the corner of Chapel and Maple.
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The truck accident also severed the service lines to the residential homes on Gaston and Maple Streets. A total of five utility lines were taken down in just a few minutes by the semi trailer truck.
After causing the destruction, which authorities say covered over a hundred yards and closed down several streets, the truck driver did not stop. Officials say that the semi truck was last seen getting back onto Route 141 and headed toward the city of Holyoke.
After the truck accident police shut down Cottage Street between Clark and Pine Streets, and Chapel Street was also closed for the rest of the day while highway crews cleared the downed poles from the roadway and the Union Mart store. Utility personnel worked to restore power to the area.
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According to Western Massachusetts Electric Company 103 customers lost power due to the truck accident.
The unknown truck driver will likely face several serious charges when found. Some investigators of the truck accident believe the driver should have heard the large poles snapping and realized that the 18 wheeler truck was hitting something. The only clue that they have is that the semi truck is red or blue and had the initials “AL”. They also expect that it will have damage to the top section where it took out the utility poles.
The truck accident remains under investigation.
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