Crime & Safety

Tractor-Trailer Pulls Down Three Utility Poles, Power Out on Birch Street

Utility crews are continuing to repair the damage left by a tractor-trailer truck that pulled down three utility poles on Birch Street, in front of the Milford Fire Department headquarters.

A tractor-trailer driver taking a left-hand turn from a business on to Birch Street hit low-hanging Verizon wires Monday night, pulling down three utility poles over the street, and temporarily blocking access.

The poles and wires which snapped in the incident caused a power outage in the area, including the busy intersection at Birch and Medway roads. The truck hit the wires about 7 p.m. Monday, after exiting a commercial property at 23 Birch St.

The 50-year-old commercial driver was temporarily stuck inside his cab, as the wires were live and spread across the road, according to a police narrative. National Grid was contacted and the power to the area shut off.

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The man later was able to get out of his truck, and was not injured. According to a police report, after the driver hit the Verizon lines, a pole that had been cracked from a previous motor vehicle collision snapped, causing two other poles to break. Those poles were "rotted at the base" according to the police report.

The poles are the property of National Grid.

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By Tuesday afternoon, new poles were in place and utility crews were working to reinstall the wires. The work temporarily blocked front access to the . Firefighters moved one of the trucks to be able to respond to calls.


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