On 7/08/2023, Officers from the Hampton Twp. Police Dept. responded to St. Paul's United Methodist Church for a report of a utility pole and wires down on the ground caused by a tractor trailer truck that was no longer on scene.
While en route to St. Paul’s, Officers located the tractor trailer in the Allison Park Plaza parking lot. The driver of the truck was asked about the incident at the church, and he stated that he turned around in the parking lot of a church just up the road. He stated that he missed the turn into the Dollar General in the Allison Park Plaza and that he used the parking lot of the church because it looked big enough to turn around in. He said that while he was pulling out, he caught a wire with the top of his truck and that he saw the wire "snap" and hit the ground. However, he did not know that he caused damage to the utility pole and other wires. He was then asked why he didn't stop after he knew that he caused damage to the wire and he stated, "I just wanted to get to a safe location, which is the Dollar General store here." Officers took his driver’s and insurance information for the report.
After speaking with the driver, Officers responded to St. Paul's Church. While at the church, Officers met with members of St. Paul's Church and members of Duquesne Light. Both parties were advised that the driver of the truck that caused the damage at the church was located, and they were provided with the driver's and insurance information. Officers also assessed the damage done in the parking lot. There were multiple wires brought down and a utility pole brought down as well. In addition, there was fire damage caused to the grass and mulch bed from the electrical wires making contact with the ground.
It was discovered that there was also damage caused to a vehicle when one of the power lines landed on the vehicle after being brought down. The driver of the vehicle stated that he was traveling westbound on Ferguson Rd. at the time of the incident. He stated that as he approached the church, he saw the truck pulling out of the church and that it started to travel eastbound on Ferguson Rd. He advised that he noticed that the truck was dragging a wire with the top of the trailer part of the truck. He went on to say that the wire the truck was dragging landed on his vehicle and caused damage (scratches) to the hood, passenger side door, passenger side mirror, and the sunroof of the car.