18-wheeler downs power lines, poles at Tyler intersection

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - Crews worked for over five hours to get lines and poles removed from the middle of a neighborhood street in Tyler after an 18-wheeler tore them down.

At the height of the outage, over 100 homes were without power after an 18-wheeler struck power lines near the intersection of Sequoia Drive and Kidd Drive before 10 a.m. Monday.

Emergency crews immediately responded to the scene and closed the area to all traffic as they worked through the accident.

Britney Thigpen lives in the area, and she lost power when the lines were hit.

“I had my kids about to jump in the car, and then all of a sudden the house went dark. We heard crashing, and I ran out the back door, and my husband was screaming looking out the front window, which was obviously the front lines coming down, and then I saw the semi dragging the lines,” said Thigpen.

Braylon Shackelford, who also lives in the area, was frightened by the loud commotion.

“I heard two loud booms and some crashing noises, so I thought a tree had fallen on the power line because the lights went out instantly, and then I came outside and just saw all the neighbors looking around, and the power lines were bouncing up so I knew something significant had happened,” said Shackelford.

No injuries were reported; however, the lines and poles needed to be replaced. The police department said it expected the repairs to take “a significant amount of time.”

By about 4 p.m., all but eight customers had power restored, and all five power poles had been replaced, according to Tom Trimble with Oncor. Trimble said three crews were on scene, two from Tyler and one from Jacksonville, with full restoration expected by 5 p.m.

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