Power provider FortisAlberta said a crash involving a school bus and a power pole west of Stony Plain, which initially looked “pretty bad”, was instead the “best case scenario.”
Metering technologist John Hrasko was driving along Highway 16A toward Edmonton AT around 6:45 a.m. on Friday when he saw a vehicle in the median.
“Then I drove a little bit further and noticed a school bus in the ditch against a power pole and the power pole was laying on the school bus,” the 31-year employee said.
The incident happened at Highway 16A and Range Road 20. Police said it appears the bus was travelling on Highway 16 when an SUV hit it while trying to cross the road.
“We always train to do a site management survey: what kind of hazards, noticing all the wiring was still in the air, intact, the fact the power was on meant it wasn’t as bad as it looked,” Hrasko said.
He called the grid desk at the control centre to ensure that if the line were to trip, it would stay off, and then he approached the bus.
“I told them I work for the power company and we need to get off the bus right away. As far as I could ascertain, there was no danger really,” he said.
“You could have the worst situation where the wires are laying on the bus and the lines tripping on and off.”
Police said the driver of the SUV suffered only minor injuries and the bus driver was taken to hospital as a precaution. The bus driver’s two children were the only other people on the bus and RCMP said they were not injured. No other students had been picked up at the time of the crash.
FortisAlberta said that when an object comes into contact with a power line, it becomes energized. The ground within a 10-metre radius also becomes energized, meaning there is a risk of electrocution to those who enter and exit a vehicle.
“We have protection on the lines that could de-energize it if it hits a ground-type thing. But it also could stay on and it could get a momentary hit of electricity,” said Joe Dwyer, the area manager for operations for FortisAlberta.
“Even if the line is lying on the ground, it doesn’t mean it’s de-energized. It still could be live.”
To avoid a power outage for customers, the power pole has been repaired but not yet replaced. Dwyer said it has been stabilized and supported and a new pole will be put in place when conditions are better.
Dwyer said he has seen many crashes involving power poles where drivers and passengers immediately get out of the vehicle. He said that behaviour needs to change.
“Stay in your vehicle. Unless there is an emergency [like] it’s on fire, then keep your feet together, get out of your vehicle, keep them together and hop out of that site. At least get about 10 metres away,” he said.
The RCMP said the driver of the SUV has been charged with failing to proceed safely after stopping.
With files from Phil Heidenreich, Global News
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