Woman escapes death after T&TEC pole crashes onto car

A WOMAN narrowly escaped death on Tuesday morning when a Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) pole with two transformers fell on top of her car while she was driving in Pleasantville.

The woman, who declined to comment on her near-death experience, appeared shaken at the scene, in front of the Pleasantville Health Centre.

She looked on in disbelief at the concrete pole lying on her car nearby. It was extensively damaged, mainly the bonnet, and the windscreen was damaged. There were also large pieces of debris from the damaged pole on the car and nearby pavement.

There were no reports of injuries.

The crash caused a power outage.

The police blocked off parts of the road to traffic as a crew from T&TEC detached and removed the transformers from the pole.

A statement from T&TEC said some concrete pump trucks were travelling on Chaconia Avenue around 9 am when they hooked onto cables from another utility company on the opposite side of the street.

The force eventually pulled on T&TEC’s infrastructure, bringing down the pole and two transformers onto the car.

The statement added that supply was restored to all the customers in the area except the health centre, which was directly served by that pole.

The workers were replanting a pole with transformers to restore supply to the centre.

Many people, including San Fernando mayor Robert Parris, who arrived later, said the driver was very fortunate to have escaped unhurt.

“It is a miracle that she is alive. This could have been a different story this morning, and we are thankful for her life. Look at the condition of that car. I am thankful that there was no loss of life,” Parris said.

The mayor said he was told a cement truck had accidentally pulled down some electrical lines.

The woman was driving behind the truck and saw the lines falling, and then the pole came down on her car.

He said he spoke to the driver, who said officials from an insurance company were on their way to the site of the accident.

“Drivers doing this type of transportation (with large vehicles) are required to inform the San Fernando City Corporation. Unfortunately, that does not always happen. The correct thing is for them to contact the corporation when they are doing that type of transportation throughout San Fernando,” the mayor said.

“That may be one of the things we need to start enforcing. We have had instances in Pleasantville where vehicles have pulled down lines, damaging homes. I thank God this case was not as bad as it could have been.”

Newsday learnt the three trucks were transporting cement to cast the foundation of a house in Pleasantville. One of the trucks came into contact with the lines, and the police spoke to the driver.

This is the latest in a series of bizarre, freak incidents, some of which ended in death.

On October 9, truck driver Rakesh Ramnarine, 38, of Cap-de-Ville, was killed after a tyre exploded while he was trying to repair his truck. CCTV footage showed Ramnarine reaching under the truck, between two rear tyres, when there was an explosion.

After the smoke cleared, the tyre was shredded and Ramnarine was found lying between the truck and the pavement. He later died of internal injuries. Ramnarine worked at the construction company Namalco Group.

Then on June 14, two people were injured by a fallen tree while in a car on the southbound lane along the Uriah Butler Highway near Mt Hope.