Truck hits electrical wire: Accident causes traffic jam, brownout

CEBU, Philippines - Vehicular traffic at the Cebu South Coastal road along Rabaya St., Barangay Cansojong, Talisay City went on a standstill for more than an hour and residents from Rabaya St. going to Barangay Tangke experienced brownout after a grader truck, which was being carried by a flat-bed truck, hit an electrical wire at 2:30 p.m yesterday.

SPO4 Henry Obiso, chief of the Talisay City Traffic Division, said with the incident had also caused power interruption in the area as the truck damaged a concrete post of the Visayan Electric Company (VECO) where the said wire was connected to.

The electrical post was uprooted and was cut into two. The wires connected to it and to the five other nearby posts have however prevented its upper portion from falling.

Obiso said no one was harmed from the incident.

He said the truck, which is owned by Fdr-Con Co. Inc. that has a warehouse in Barangay Cansojong, has been passing on the same route regularly, but it was only yesterday, while on its way to Mandaue City, that it hit the wire.

Obiso added the wire could have been snagged from some reason.

The investigator believes the truck was from Naga City where Fdr has a project.

Obiso said they have confiscated the license of Federico Villarta, 55, a resident of Barangay Lutac, Naga City.

As of yesterday, VECO was still assessing the damage the incident had caused on its property.

The power firm was quick to see the damage and did some repairs to it but as of press time, the power in the affected area has not been restored.

The traffic was finally back to normal at around 5 p.m., said traffic investigator PO2 Lino Diez. —Liv G. Campo and Mellanie Joy C. Rosales/WAB