Driver Trapped In Car After Tree, Power Lines Fall
SUDBURY (CBS) – The Sudbury Fire Department says it was around 3:30 Friday afternoon when they got a call a woman was trapped in her car and surrounded by power lines after a tree fell.
Those who live on Pantry Street in Sudbury heard a loud noise. The noise was so loud, Kevin Ruddy thought the tree fell in front of his house. "When half a tree goes down you definitely hear it," he said.
When Ruddy came out of his home though, it wasn't just a tree he found. "I could see the woman was trapped in her car but I couldn't approach it because you don't know what's live and what's not," he said.
The woman's car was caught in the middle of two utility poles and a tree. Other neighbors say it was chaotic when police and fire first responded.
"Fire engines down here... one line of traffic with nobody directing traffic so it was kind of a mess but no one was hurt," Ralph Tyler said.
Eversource had to cut power completely before the driver could get out.
Ruddy says this took over an hour. "When they finally confirmed the power was off they just went in, they opened the door for the woman and she came right out. It was all very smooth," he said.
It is still unclear which wires were on the car but it wasn't a chance anyone wanted the driver to take. "If you jumped out of your car... if it's the right wire it would work OK. If it's the wrong wire it might be 50,000 volts," Tyler added.
A few homes lost power and the woman walked away without a scratch. "She's very fortunate in a way because if she had gone a little bit further she could have been hit by the pole or the tree. She was in just the right spot. So yeah, there is a line on her car but it could have been a lot worse," Ruddy explained.
Sudbury Fire says the woman did the right thing by staying in her car and this serves as a reminder to everyone if this happens to them they should do the same.