By Tom Zaneni, Abuja
A yet-to-be-identified man has been critically injured in Rivers State after a truck conveying a heavy-duty generator rammed into two electricity poles which fell badly on his backbone.
The Network learnt that the fallen poles also destroyed several stationary vehicles.
The incident was said to have happened at Kalabari Street formerly known as Udi Street in the Mile One area of Port Harcourt on Thursday.
The victim was hit by one of the fallen poles carrying electric wires, knocking him down and rendering him unconscious.
Eyewitnesses said the victim, before the incident, was walking along the street when one of the poles suddenly fell on his back, following the impact of the accident.
An operator of Point of Sale business in the area said that the unidentified driver of the truck was on top speed when the incident occurred.
According to her, the cargo the truck was conveying hooked unto some overhead electric wires which forced the pole to fall down, hitting the unsuspecting man.
He observed that the incident would have been more disastrous if there was current on the electric wires when the incident happened.
“I saw that truck coming into the street with speed, some taxi drivers were even trying to stop him to slow down, but before we say anything, the tall generator he was carrying hooked those wires breaking two poles”, she said.
She added, “After the first pole fell, it dragged the second pole which hit an old man that was walking at the back, everyone ran away.
“It was after some minutes that some men came and carried the man who had fainted on the ground and rushed him to the hospital, we don’t know if the man would survive or not.”
Another eyewitness said that the weight of the electric pole broke the victim’s spinal cord before he was rushed to the he hospital at about 1:30pm.
He said three vehicles were equally destroyed by the fallen electricity poles.
He said, “A jeep that was parked by the side of the street and two other cars were destroyed by the poles. We thank God that there was no light when this happened, otherwise you would have seen a different thing here.
“That man that the pole fell on, I believe his spinal cord would be badly affected, I pray he survives.”
