Downed power line lands on bus, causes power outage and road closures
Posted Sep 11, 2013 02:18:39 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – Power is back on and roads are open in Ottawa’s east end, after an outage caused by a power line falling on top of an OC Transpo bus.
Russell Road fully re-opened to traffic shortly before 1 p.m., Wednesday, after being closed at Smyth Road since the line came down around 8 a.m.
The overhead power cable burnt out at the switcher on the pole, bursting into a shower of sparks. The thick heavy wire came crashing to the ground, catching the back end of the bus as it was making a left turn onto Smyth Road.
The whole incident was terrifying for passengers on board the bus.
“I look again and another flash happened, then we were all panicking. We didn’t know what to do,” Jeff, a passenger on the bus, told 1310News. “The bus driver kept us calm and told us not to get off the bus.”
There were still 206 homes and businesses in the Walkley Road, Alta Vista Drive, St. Laurent Boulevard and Smyth Road area affected by the outage, early Wednesday afternoon. At its peak, there were 3,775 customers without power. Hydro Ottawa said power was fully restored before 2 p.m.
