Live power lines trap man in truck

Monday, February 25, 2008
Emergency crews stand by, waiting until power company personnel can shut off power to lines drug down and broken when a pickup struck and snapped off a power pole in the 1600 block of West J Sunday night. Ambulance personnel work to remove Joe Castle, 53, of Oberlin, from his crumpled pickup. (Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Daily Gazette)

All emergency crews could do was stand by ... wait for power company personnel to cut power to electric lines draped over the pickup ... hope and pray that the man inside the pickup didn't decide to get out.

"That's a worst-case scenario," Brian Buhr, of Nebraska Public Power District, said this morning. "EMT's can't go in until the scene is cleared, and there's a person in the vehicle."

That person was Joe Castle, 53, of Oberlin, whose pickup struck the power pole in the 1600 block of West J in McCook Sunday night. The pole snapped off about 20 feet in the air, falling crossarms dragged live power lines onto J Street and across the pickup, and the breaker flipped at 11:02 p.m.

Pete Meints, who lives about a half-block from the scene, said he heard squealing tires, "a terrible bang and a helluva flash of light." He flagged a second vehicle away from the scene, he said, which was dark because street lights had gone out.

McCook Fire Chief Marc Harpham said this morning the situation was "not good. We can't put our personnel in harm's way. All we could do was wait for the power company."

Harpham was very impressed with the response times of the NPPD crews, he said. "We called NPPD and told them we needed them NOW, and they didn't waste anytime," he said.

NPPD crews were on the scene about 11:20 p.m. and isolated the downed line, Buhr said. With a temporary fix, they rerouted the power load, which allowed emergency personnel to approach the pickup and power crews to restore electrical power to more than 500 customers.

It was about 35 minutes after the initial impact that emergency personnel were able to remove Castle from the pickup and transport him to Community Hospital of McCook. He is listed in stable condition this morning.

Harpham said police personnel had some contact with Castle, who was semi-conscious, inside the pickup.

McCook Police Department Det. Larry Kinne said this morning that alcohol was involved in the accident. The investigation continues, he said, and charges, if any, will be filed with the Red Willow County attorney's office.

Buhr said he appreciated the help of the fire and ambulance personnel, city crews and police department to control traffic onto the scene.

"We couldn't have done our jobs without their help," Buhr said. "We appreciate their help very much." Also assisting with traffic control were Red Willow County sheriff's deputies.

Buhr said a new pole and new wires will be put up today.

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