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Montrose Dump Truck Driver Escapes Electrified Cab

MONTROSE, N.Y. – A dump truck operator left his truck cab unscathed after a power pole carrying 4,000 volts of electricity crashed through the truck's windshield and left live electrical lines lying in the materials yard. The pole came down in the Peckham Materials yard in Montrose after the truck's hydraulic bed became entangled with overhead power lines.

When the Montrose Fire Department received the call at about 3:50 p.m., Second Assistant Chief Rob Porter said he immediately notified Con Edison.

"He was in significant danger," said Porter about the driver.

Dan Byrne, a Con Edison worker at the scene, said even 120 volts could kill a person. That's the approximate voltage of a toaster. Several nearby signs read, "DANGER" and "HIGH VOLTAGE OVERHEAD."

"In order to make it as safe as quickly as we did, the control station de-energized before I could even open the fuses," said Byrne about getting the driver out safely.

Traffic signals at the north entrance to the Cortlandt train station were momentarily disrupted as Con Edison workers powered down lines to get the driver out as quickly as possible.

A manager at Peckham Materials said company safety training emphasizes that vehicle operators should stay inside trucks during accidents involving electricity, so they don't become grounds to live wires. 

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