Officer Rob Atkins speaks with driver Jose' Vargas.
Truck Takes Out Powerline by Local Paper, LIVINGSTON, June 11, 2009 - At 7:50 am on June 11, 2009 a tractor trailer driven by Jose' Vargas, 52, of San Antonio was attempting to back his rig into an alley by the Polk County Enterprise. The truck is property of Miguel Angel Trucking Company out of San Antonio. According to witnesses, Vargas' trailer caught onto a guywire attached to a utility pole. Vargas apparently didn't know and continued to back in until the utility pole snapped in half. A very loud "BOOM" could be heard throughout Livingston when the transformer blew. Livingston Police Officers Rob Atkins and Kevin Blackburn were dispatched to the scene of the accident along with Fire Marshall Mark Taylor and City of Livingston Utility trucks. The power lines came down and also damaged another transformer on a connecting utility pole. The utility men had a new pole and transformer up later in the morning. Vargas was not charged with anything in the accident.
Snapped in half. The guywire held up (but the pole didn't).
Huge roll of paper visible in the truck, driver Jose' Vargas (right) looks on at the mess.
Utility workers from the City of Livingston made relatively quick work of the situation. They put a new pole in and were done well before lunch hour.
Workers from the Polk County Enterprise gather to observe the mess as Officer Rob Atkins assesses the situation.
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