More than 500 ComEd customers in the Lake Bluff area faced a power outage Wednesday afternoon after the driver of a dump truck knocked down several live utility lines on Route 176, authorities said.
At approximately 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the driver of a dump truck was heading westbound on Route 176 at the intersection of Skokie Valley Road, police said. The bed of the dump truck was elevated, and it collided with overhead lines, which got stuck on the truck.
Following the accident, officers shut down both directions of the approximately quarter-mile section of Route 176 from Skokie Valley east to Shagbark Road, Police Chief Matt Smizinski noted.
ComEd spokesman Tom Dominguez reported that 515 customers were initially without power after the incident. He said 337 of those customers had their power restored in less than an hour, and the remainder were back online by 3:55 p.m.
The driver received citations for an equipment violation and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, Smizinski said. He added that Route 176 reopened just before 7 p.m., and no one was injured in the incident.
AT&T crews responded to the scene later in the day and were re-hanging their power cables. An AT&T spokesperson said none of their customers lost service.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.