Truck Snags Powerline in Asheboro, Trapping Driver and Triggering Power Outage & Elevator Rescue

ASHEBORO — A work truck snagged a low-hanging powerline Monday afternoon, trapping employees in the truck and knocking out power to several businesses which also trapped people in an elevator. 

Just after 6 p.m. on Monday, April 21, emergency crews from Asheboro Fire & Rescue were dispatched to 1131 E. Dixie Drive for a report of a vehicle crash that had pulled down a utility pole in front of the parking lot of Kickback Jack’s. 

"The guy who was in that truck, he didn’t have his pole all the way down," said six-year-old Evan Hunterswails, who saw the crash while returning to a nearby hotel with his brother and parents, visiting from Myrtle Beach. "Then, he pulled the powerline down and that fell down onto that guy’s car."

According to a crash report by the Asheboro Police Department, a 2023 Freightliner work truck, owned by the Davey Tree Expert Company had turned onto Executive Way from US-64 East. The truck, which police said had its boom equipment still raised, struck a low-hanging powerline. The collision pulled down a utility pole in front of the parking lot of Kickback Jack’s, with parts of the pole falling onto a Honda in the parking lot. Police estimated the damage to the Honda at $7,000. 

The impact of the crash left live wires draped across the work truck, trapping the driver and a passenger inside. They remained in the truck until utility workers arrived to cut the power and safely free them.

The incident also caused a power outage affecting several businesses along East Dixie Drive and Executive Way, including multiple hotels and Kickback Jacks.

While emergency crews were working at the scene of the crash, Randolph County Emergency Services notified them that the Holiday Inn Express at 900 Executive Way reported that someone was trapped inside an elevator due to the power loss. Asheboro Fire/Rescue and Ash-Rand Rescue sent additional personnel and called for Ash-Rand Rescue to assist in freeing the individual. 

No injuries were reported. 

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Find more photos from the scene on the Randolph Hub Facebook Page.