Busy Stoneham road still closed after tractor-trailer snagged wire, tore down 7 utility poles

STONEHAM, Mass. — A busy Stoneham road remains closed to traffic Thursday morning, nearly 24 hours after a tractor-trailer snagged a low-hanging wire and ripped down seven utility poles, leaving several vehicles trapped amid a sea of downed power lines.

Emergency crews responding to multiple 911 calls in the area of Montvale Avenue around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday found a trail of toppled utility poles and live power lines draped across the roadway.

“It pulled down one telephone pole, which pulled down the next one, pulled down the next one,” said Jack Finley, who was driving a UPS van just behind the truck. “I knew I was going to get hit by one of the poles. Luckily it was the back end of the truck, not the front.”

And luckily, that was the only vehicle hit by any of the telephone poles though several in transit became trapped under the falling wires.

“Most of the people got out of the vehicles,” said Acting Stoneham Fire Chief David Eastman. “There was still one lady inside her car. She waited for Eversource to show up to make sure the power was dead before extricating herself from the vehicle. She was unharmed.”

In fact, nobody was harmed, including the driver of the 18-wheeler, who managed to escape from his cab. Finley watched him exit. “Sparks are flying all over the place,” he said. “So that was concerning.”

Tractor-trailer rips down 7 utility poles along busy Stoneham street near Interstate 93

The section of Montvale Avenue affected is an area populated by office parks and apartment buildings. At one point, hundreds of people were without power.

Mike and Carol Cataldo live nearby. The clock in their apartment froze at 9:29 a.m.

“We’re on the sixth floor,” Mike said. “We had to climb down six flights of stairs. No electricity, no heat no elevator, no nothing. Even the emergency lights are finally gone.”

Most residents impacted by the mess had their power back on Wednesday night after Eversource brought seven generators to the area to temporarily get things back online, but crews continued to work through the night to upright the poles.

As of Thursday morning, an army of utility workers remained at the scene. It’s not clear when the area will be reopened or how long the repairs will take to complete.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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