BOSTON — A cement truck brought down multiple utility poles and power lines in West Roxbury on Wednesday afternoon, leaving about 1,000 customers without electricity.
The crash happened just before 2 p.m. on LaGrange Street, where police said the cement truck snagged overhead wires, pulling down several utility poles.
“It’s kind of a mess,” one neighbor said while surveying the scene.
Neighbors described hearing a loud crash as the poles came down.
“I guess just the crash when it happened was so scary because it was just silent in my house and I was like, ‘What just happened?’” neighbor Zoe Rabinovitch said.
According to police, the driver became trapped inside the cement truck after power lines and at least one utility pole fell onto the vehicle. Emergency crews were unable to remove the driver until power to the lines was shut off. Police said the driver was safely rescued, though it took additional time to free the truck from the tangled wires.
“And so once you take out one pole, a series of poles come down,” another neighbor said. “We can only see three poles from here, but we’re told five poles are compromised.”
Eversource said approximately 1,000 customers lost power as a result of the incident. Utility crews worked throughout the day and into the evening to replace damaged poles, restore power and repair the downed lines.
By 8 P.M., most customers had their power back.
Without electricity, many residents were forced to adjust their plans.
“I was walking to the coffee shop because I needed to get internet, and I saw the three telephone poles, and I was just like, ‘What?’ It was so scary,” Rabinovitch said.
For many neighbors, the outage was more than an inconvenience.
Some worried about food spoiling in their refrigerators, while others were concerned about losing air conditioning during the summer heat or internet access needed to work from home.
“We might have to go home and eat some ice cream,” one neighbor joked.
LaGrange Street remained closed while crews worked to replace utility poles and restore service into the night.
As of 10:10 P.M., all customers have had their power restored.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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