Truckie 'lucky to be alive' after picking up 11,000V cable in Pipiwai

Two people who handled an 11,000 Volt power line brought down by this logging truck crash are lucky to be alive. Photo / Supplied

The incident occurred on Pipiwai Rd, 60km northwest of Whangarei, about 10am today.

Top Energy spokeswoman Philippa White said a logging truck driver lost control just south of the junction with Lovatt Rd and rolled his trailer, felling a power pole and bringing down a high voltage power line.

The driver then got out of his cab and picked up the power line to move it out of the way.
If the line had still been live he would have killed instantly, she said.

Even standing close to a live 11,000 volt line could cause burns or electrocution.

But that wasn't the end of it — another driver then picked up a piece of the broken power pole and placed it on top of the line, which was suspended just above the road, so he could drive over it and continue his journey.

That too would have been fatal if the line was live, White said.

The crash occurred just on the Far North boundary but the first faultman on the scene was Erin Green from Whāngarei lines company Northpower.

Once he arrived he made sure no one else came close to the downed high-voltage line.

A similar incident occurred on Whāngarei's Port Rd in July when a hiab truck snapped overhanging powerlines. The truck didn't stop but another motorist picked up one of the downed 400 volt lines and moved it out of the way on to a grass verge.

That man, who thought he was handling a fibre-optic cable, was also lucky to be alive.

White said today'sclose call in Pipiwai was yet another reminder to never touch, or even get close to, downed powerlines.

''They must always be treated as live at all times because electricity kills and we don't want anyone in our community needlessly hurt or killed,'' she said.