Falling branches narrowly miss man, down utility lines

Falling branches on Ariapita Road, St Ann’s on Tuesday narrowly missed hitting a man, damaged a car, smashed a fruit stand, blocked traffic and downed several utility lines.

Residents said a little after 12pm on Tuesday, between George Bridge and the Cascadia Hotel, a branch broke from a large tree, possibly a sandbox tree, and then collided with and brought down several other branches. When Newsday arrived at 4pm, a snapped utility pole lay across the street suspended on utility lines and wires, hanging from them precariously.

A man who identified himself only as “Chariot” told the media he was on his way to his car when he saw the branch coming down and ran away. His car’sreceived fender, bonnet and lights were damaged. Nearby residents using a power saw helped cut the branches and free his car. Chariot said the tree still needs to be dealt with and called on authorities to pay more attention to trees in the area.

Kevy Jack, another resident, told media he heard when the first branch fell and it sounded like two trucks crashing into each other. He said branches and debris had already been removed from the road. He stressed there were still hollow branches on the tree that could fall any minute, some even longer than the initial branch which fell.

A number of houses in the area were without electricity after the accident.

Jack reported that staff from the TT Electricity Commission (TTEC) arrived earlier but had left, possibly to get more manpower for the job.

A Flow official was on scene but said he had to wait for TTEC to complete their work.

TTEC later returned and began work on the fallen utility pole.

According to one official, power should have been restored by 9pm on Tuesday night and the situation rectified by yesterday.