By Brigid Beatty

Published: Thursday, January 31, 2013, 12:01 a.m.
Updated: Friday, February 1, 2013

EAST FRANKLIN — Rick Travis said he saw sparks fly when the electrical wires landed on his pickup truck on Wednesday morning.

Travis, of Mayport, Clarion County, was traveling along Franklin Hill Road (State Route 268) near the intersection of Nixon Street and Butler Road in West Kittanning at around 8:30 a.m. when the tractor trailer ahead of him snagged a sagging overhead electrical wire causing a utility pole and a tangle of wires to fall on the roadside and on top of his pickup.

“I stayed where I was until I was told to back out,” said Travis.

John Lower of Worthington was the driver of the tractor trailer.

Neither of the men was injured. Both work for MDS Energy Ltd.

According to Sgt. William Evans, of the East Franklin police department, the tractor trailer did not exceed height requirements.

The road was closed for about seven hours in both directions from Hilltop Plaza to Old Butler Road in East Franklin while crews from West Penn Power worked to restore the electrical lines.

The incident caused temporary power outages in Kittanning, West Kittanning and Applewold and shut down telephone service for a portion of the day for businesses at Hilltop Plaza.

State police, East Franklin police, PennDOT, West Penn Power and Applewold and East Franklin fire departments responded to the scene.

Brigid Beatty is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-543-1303 or bbeatty@tribweb.com.

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