Fayetteville road reopens hours after dump truck hits power pole
FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Reilly Road was closed at Cliffdale Road after a dump truck hit a power pole Thursday afternoon. The road reopened shortly before 10:30 p.m.
Utility crews remain at the scene, and Fayetteville Police urge motorists to drive carefully in the area while workers are present.
No injuries were reported, but the driver, Anthony James, was trapped in the vehicle for a while because of downed power lines.
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A little after 4 p.m., the power lines were deactivated and the driver was freed and treated at the scene.
The collision caused significant damage to the utility pole and caused power, as well as other utility lines, to fall across the roadway, Fayetteville Police said.
The road was originally expected to be closed for as many as four hours.
Police responded to the crash at approximately 1:53 p.m. They told ABC11 that the dump truck suffered a mechanical failure that caused the bed of the truck to lift up and hit the power lines and fiber-optics lines.
At that point, several traffic lights went down and police began to direct traffic.
Sheri James, the wife of the truck driver, said she frantically rushed to the scene and stayed on the phone with her husband, trying to keep him calm.
"His safety, making sure it's all right. That's my main concern," Sherri James said. "He's nervous. This a huge event, but he's fine and he didn't get hurt or anything."
The incident created huge headaches and traffic congestion during the afternoon commute.
"Our obvious concern is Fort Bragg traffic as they are leaving work," said Lt, Brett Chandler of the Fayetteville Police Department. "A lot of the soldiers live on the western part of the city so there is patience required on their part as we deal with traffic."
Spectrum and PWC crews were working to repair fiber optic and power lines.
