Truck Crash Brings Down Power Lines In Oakland, Leaving 1,500 Without Power
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- Power is still out in parts of West Oakland after a Goodwill truck knocked down three power poles and damaged a fourth on Sunday morning.
It happened this morning just before 11:00 a.m. on 19th Street between Adeline and Union Streets.
In a cell phone video shot by one of the nearby residents, he can be heard saying, "These wires are live." Only a few moments later, the lines start to arc as he screams, "Get the (expletive) out of there!" before another loud explosion is heard.
"I heard a loud bang from my apartment and ran downstairs, came down, and just looked up the street, and it's just like Armageddon. It's just chaos," said Kristi Rowe, who lives nearby.
Battalion Chief Zoraida Diaz with the Oakland Fire Department said, "It was a Goodwill truck that got caught up in the wires, might have potentially struck the pole."
Witnesses said the driver realized the truck was stuck and gunned the accelerator in an attempt to get the truck free. Instead, neighbors said the truck jerked forward, pulling down the nearby power pole and the two on either side.
The power poles damaged cars as they came crashing down. The heavy wires slammed across other nearby vehicles, blowing out the windows.
Oakland firefighters said the driver wasn't hurt and stayed on scene to help with the investigation.
People who live nearby said they're just trying to make the best of the situation.
"Bought a huge cooler, we're going to get dry ice now. We got some 500 lumen lights to put on the table and I went and bought a whole lot of candles at Marshalls," said Rowe.
PG&E said immediately after the lines came down, about 1,500 people lost power. As of 5:00 p.m., that number is down to about 50 people. Crews say they have to replace the three power poles that fell, and also a fourth that was damaged, but did not fall.
All the repairs are scheduled to be finished sometime Monday morning, restoring power to the impacted areas on 19th Street.
