Truck driver seriously hurt in E.P. Crash
Andrea Medeiros
A truck driver hit a utility pole and cracked it in half, Sunday, taking the wires down with it, and putting a family of five in danger.
The family was on their way back from church, right behind the truck driver. They were able to stop short right before that utility pole smashed into their car with three kids inside. The pole crashed down just a few feet in front of them.
Shattered glass covered the dump truck's cab that hit that pole. The driver's side door was completely mangled. The crash that caused the mess was what people on Massasoit Avenue woke up to Sunday morning.
“All of a sudden I just heard boom, boom, boom, and I jumped out of my bed, and I knew it was a pole, so I looked out the window and I saw the pole was kind of shaking over here,” said neighbor Kemi Olagbegi.
Police said truck driver Robert Powell of Johnston was speeding when he jumped the curb around 9am. That's when Powell hit the utility pole, snapping it in half.
“I came running out and the poles were already down,” said neighbor Liz Fox, “And the driver was hanging out of the windshield.”
Fox said she's surprised the 44 year old driver survived. He was trapped in the truck's cab. Police and fire crews pulled him out.
Utility poles blocked the road, wires were strewn about, and electricity was cut off for 6 hours.
“The curb over here is really sharp and people think it's ok to speed around it,” said Olagbegi, “But you really have to go 20 to 25 or you're really going to lose control.”
Olagbegi said she's seen it all before. The pole that snapped was just replaced a couple days ago, and she said accidents happen there all the time.
The driver of the truck has a broken leg and a pretty bad cut on his neck. We're told he's in stable condition at Rhode Island hospital.
Police said he will likely face misdemeanor charges for reckless driving.
