Troy Shantz
A Sarnia couple says they’re lucky to be alive after a hydro pole collapsed and toppled onto their moving car as they drive past on Colborne Road.
“All of a sudden we just felt this smack. I kept driving; I was just sort of stunned,” said Bruce Cameron, who was returning home Oct. 4 from a granddaughter’s volleyball game with his partner Wanda Van Geel.
“Some witnesses came over and said a pole had fallen over and it was rotted at the ground.”
Cameron was treated and released from hospital for minor head and neck injuries. He said he also suffered several teeth broken.
Van Geel was unhurt.
“A couple of inches either way on that pole and one or both of us might have been killed,” said Cameron, who took photos of the damaged vehicle moments after it happened.
“I will remember this incident for the rest of my life and especially so every two months when it comes time to pay my hydro bill,” he added.
Bluewater Power CEO Janice McMichael-Dennis said the company responded quickly after learning one of its poles had failed.
She added she was unaware of it every happening before in the utility’s 100 years of operation.
“We do have a very robust equipment and pole inspection program. We’re working to put all of these pieces together, to understand what exactly transpired in this situation,” she said.
The utility has 16,000 poles across its service area and each one is regularly inspected during its typical three-year service life, said McMichael-Dennis,
“It’s a natural product, and it does have a lifespan that is unique to each and every one, but we know that, and that’s why we have an inspection program.”