Police officers at the scene of a crash in Masterton on Monday in which a car was destroyed after hitting a power pole in High St, cutting power to hundreds. PHOTO/PAM GRAHAM
PAM GRAHAM
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A car hit a concrete power pole so hard on High St, Masterton, on Monday it snapped and ripped the power lines off a house.
Fire and Emergency NZ, Wellington Free Ambulance, Police, Downer and a tow truck attended the crash at around 12.20pm, which closed part of High St and cut power to 870 properties in the area.
The man, woman and dog in the car were not injured.
The residents were having a cup of coffee when there was a loud bang and the house shook. They thought it was an earthquake but quickly realised what had happened.
The Ford car was already off the road on the footpath with the power pole broken over its bonnet when they went outside to investigate.
The male driver told them he went to brake but his foot slipped and hit the accelerator.
The force of the crash was so great it ripped off the wooden trim on the house near where the power connected to the property. The power connection to the house was a new one and the people had to contact their landlord to tell them it had been pulled off the house.
They said the woman and the dog from the car were shaking as people went to help them.
The car was heading north in a 50km/h zone.
The accident happened on the stretch of road between the Garden intersections with Solway and Manchester streets.
Traffic was diverted to side streets and power was off in the area as work at the scene continued.
State Highway 2 reopened about 3.45pm with temporary lane shift and a 30km/h speed limit in place, NZTA said.
