Six days after a gas leak shut down a portion of South Church Street, a downed telephone pole scattered drivers and students away from Rosedale Avenue between Church and New Streets. At 8:30 a.m., emails were sent out from Public Safety about the incidents stating “A number of power lines and utility polls have been pulled down causing a hazardous condition.
Rosedale Ave is closed between South New Street and South Church Street. Students exiting Killinger, Wayne and Schmidt Halls are asked to use the rear exits and pathways.” Soon thereafter, students who have the emergency text messaging service, received information on their phones about the incident.
As of about 30 minutes after the downed power lines, pedestrian traffic was flowing on both sides of the street, but vehicles were detoured to Sharpless Street and behind Sykes Student Union.
According to witnesses, a waste-management vehicle was the cause of the incidents as the vehicle lifted a dumpster and knocked into a pole driving it to the ground.
A pole was located outside the entrance to the construction site of Brandywine and Allegheny Halls was knocked over and pulled to the ground completely, with a flanking pole outside Killinger Hall snapped at the base and hanging off the ground.
The electric wires seemed intact as the bases of the poles snapped rather than the wires.
Power was working throughout the incident in Sykes and no classes were cancelled because of the incident nor were any buildings evacuated.
Cars were being moved from site at approximately 9:15 a.m. as PECO arrived on the scene to resolve the matter.
As 10 a.m., the matter was still being cleaned up and cars detoured.