GREEN CREEK TWP. — A house in Green Creek Township was without power for a few hours after a combine damaged two telephone poles Thursday afternoon.
Jeff Hartley was driving his combine down County Road 175 when he snagged a service line that crossed the road with the top of the combine at 3:56 p.m.
“It was the service line that went across the street that serves a house,” Clyde fire chief Craig Davis said. “Those lines sag, and the wind blew them, or whatnot, and when he came through there he just caught it with the top of his combine.”
After the line was snagged, it snapped one of the poles near the road. The pole was then dragged down the road a number of feet before Hartley stopped the vehicle.
Hartley and a number of others driving farm equipment use the road regularly.
“He had been down that road the day before, going in the other direction in the combine,” Davis said. “Multiple combines have been going down that road but have never had an issue.”
Hartley was trapped in the cab for some time due to the live power lines being stuck to his vehicle. Davis estimated that Hartley was stuck in the cab around 15 to 20 minutes before rescuers were able to safely kill the power in the lines, according to Davis.
The Clyde Fire Department, Sandusky County Sheriff’s Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol and Sandusky County EMS all responded to the call and were on the scene.
There were no injuries reported.
Toledo Edison reported to the scene, replaced the two poles and restored power to the house, according to Davis.
Davis estimated power was restored to the house by around 8 p.m.
