Manteca Power Poles Sent Flying After Big Rig Catches Wire
MANTECA (CBS13) — Cleanup is far from over in Manteca after power poles went airborne as part of a mess triggered by a big rig.
Chunks of the power poles ended up in streets and in homes.
Dennis Reis' home looks like it could have been in a war zone.
"Oh yeah, it was flying, after it broke away it went flying," he said.
His backyard power pole launched through the air like a missile.
"Hit the house about three-quarters up, hit the patio," he said.
The pole took out his brick chimney and didn't stop flying until it crossed his rooftop and sheared branched in his front yard birch trees.
In the moment it was chaos.
"We didn't know what happened," he said. "We never seen the truck for a while."
PG&E says a big rig truck snagged a cable or telephone wire connected to three power poles. As the driver continued down the street, the poles popped out of the ground.
Reis' neighbors' homes were also damaged.
Investigators are trying to determine who is to blame and whether the wires were sagging unusually low.