Many residents without power
About 1,600 Rocky Mountain Power customers were without power after this unattended truck severed a power pole on Shoshone Avenue last Thursday.
An unoccupied truck that rolled down a hill and into a power pole caused a power outage Thursday around noon.
According to Luke Benson, Green River Police detective and public relations specialist, at around 11:55 a.m. the GRPD received a call about a truck hitting a power pole on Shoshone Avenue.
The accident happened after a 1986 gray Chevy truck, which was being worked on by Green River resident Daniel Gilbert, 54, rolled 81 feet downhill into a power pole.
Gilbert told officers he was working on the truck and thought he had set the parking brake, but the vehicle, which was parked in front of the 230 Shoshone apartment building, started to roll.
No one was injured in the accident, but the pickup truck severed the power pole on impact, which caused the pole to fall on top of the truck.
Rocky Mountain Power spokesperson Margaret Oler said initially 1,620 customers were without power because of the accident.
"That particular pole had additional equipment to it," Oler said. "It takes several hours to replace one anyway."
Due to the power pole also having a cross arm, transformer and street light on it, it took Rocky Mountain Power employees longer to fix. As the employees worked power was restored to the customers.
The last of the customers' power was restored at 4:35 p.m. Friday, she said.
Oler said the company ensures power poles and other equipment are on hand at various sites throughout its coverage area. This way employees can solve a problem and restore power as quickly as possible.
"Things happen. Let's face it," Oler said. "We keep poles and equipment on hand to do repairs."
Gilbert was cited for allegedly not following proper requirements before leaving a vehicle unattended.
Benson said this type of incident could have been avoided.
"If you're working on a vehicle, use emergency brakes and blocks," Benson said.
He said it is the driver's responsibility to make sure they and the public are safe. One way to do that is to make sure the vehicle is parked on level ground before working on it.
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